


SCP-3212 aka 'IcyHot'

by smoreo



Category: SCP - Containment Breach, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - SCP Foundation, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, He has his powers, He is a SCP, Kinda, M/M, Rating May Change, Slow(ish) Burn, Strangers to Lovers, The rest of the SCPs aren't the main focus, The rest of the cast do not, Todoroki Shouto Needs a Hug, Todoroki Shouto is going through some stuff, quirkless au, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smoreo/pseuds/smoreo
Summary: Katsuki didn't mind working at the SCP Foundation. The job wasn't for everyone, obviously, but as long as he followed the protocol and didn't piss off the wrong entity, it was easy money. The scariest thing he had to deal with was Kirishima's dumb hair. Nothing in that place could catch Katsuki off-guard.Then in comes IcyHot.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto
Comments: 64
Kudos: 452





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm multifandom trash, and I'm sorry that I haven't updated my other fics but uh...I have no other explanation other than this plot bunny had REFUSED to leave me alone.

**_Item #:_ ** _SCP-3212_

 **_Object Class:_ ** _Euclid_

 **_Special Containment Procedures:_ ** _SCP-3212 is to be kept in a 9m x 9m (29.5ft x 29.5ft) chamber with no less than 30cm (11.8in) of cumulative fireproofing via various materials upon all surfaces and a blast-proof observation window. The opening of the chamber must consist of an airtight and temperature-controlled chamber that may be sealed in case of emergency. A sprinkler system as well as a heating and cooling system must be installed, all systems ready to be used at any time. Multiple ventilation shafts are to be installed in the ceiling, keeping constant airflow to reduce temperature shifts. SCP-3212 is only allowed a closed-off toilet area and single couch that is entirely covered in mineral wool until temperament and intelligence is determined._

_All personnel entering SCP-3212’s chamber should be wearing at least Class-A temperature-controlled sealed suits. The number of personnel entering at once, the reasons for entry, and breach procedure will be updated once more research is conducted._

**_Description:_ ** _SCP-3212 is a humanoid entity, roughly 1.8 meters (5ft 10in) in height, resembling a young adult human male. No visual abnormalities can be detected that could not be found in normal humans. His hair is bright crimson on one side and a glistening white on the left, completely natural. He has heterochromia; right eye grey while the left is turquoise. A scarred burn prominently covers the left side of his face._

_SCP-3212 appears to be efficient in controlling the nearby temperature with his body, the range undetermined at this point. However, the entity is able to produce both boiling and freezing temperatures, proved by the blistering and frostbitten injuries of the first group of personnel who had gone to retrieve him from a northern cave at the base of Mt. Fuji._

_It is unknown how long SCP-3212 had resided there. He had been discovered by a hiker curious of steam rising from a cave of the dormant volcano._

* * *

Excited chatter echoed around the walls of the cramped office as Katsuki read the document, eyes narrowed as he scanned the page. He even read over the words twice in case he forgot something. Nothing jumped out at him that was worth the endless days of constant excitement, conversations, and rumors of this newly discovered SCP. He was nothing but a glorified thermostat, and all of the extras were going fucking crazy about it. 

Katsuki had no idea why. It couldn’t be because he was humanoid. There was a damn plague doctor a few floors down. It was annoying as hell, but it was ten times as interesting than climate change personified. There were many more humanoid assholes in the facility. All the commotion about this one was getting on his damn nerves. 

“I can’t wait to see him! You excited, man?”

Katsuki lowered the document to scowl at the idiot wearing a broad smile. “Why in the hell should I be, Shitty Hair? There are other two-legged bastards here you can gawk at. It’s nothing new.”

The idiot he hated least in the room - aka Kirishima - rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “It’s not the same, dude! Those Euclids have been here since we started the job! They’re old news!”

The idiot he unfortunately had to call his roommate - aka Deku - stopped his hushed mumbling to jump into the conversation. “Right! Plus, Kacchan, this is the most human-looking one the facility has found. There’s even a chance he's intelligent enough for communication!”

“Yeah! He was wearing shorts, wasn’t he?” The dumbest idiot in the room - aka Kaminari - rocked back and forth on his heels in anticipation. “Like, actual shorts, and not that gross stuff that grew out of some of them?”

“I think so!”

“That’s what I heard!”

“This is crazy-“

The room burst into noise again, and Katsuki nearly crumpled the document in his hand. All he had to do was give it time, though. When they realized that there was actually nothing special about the hermit bastard, then they’d shut up. Half of them were probably scared as shit to get close to him, only putting up a front now. 

“Alright, alright. It’s too early in the morning to be this loud.” Sitting at the desk in front of the group, the sector head - aka Aizawa - nursed his coffee with one hand and rubbed a temple with another. The room quieted, to Katsuki’s relief, and Aizawa sighed. “I know this development is new and exciting for most of you, but remember protocol. The SCP obviously has the capacity to kill, so don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement.”

“Aye aye!” Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb - aka Iida and Uraraka - saluted him, but their smiles were still plain to see. 

Raccoon eyes - aka the eyeliner obsessed Ashido - did a little dance in her spot, impatient. “We know that already! Have we ever let you down?” 

Aizawa just stared at her. “SCP-3178 had to be terminated last week because _someone_ -“ He didn’t name any names, but it was obvious. “-had left the door unlocked.”

Ashido waved him off. “Nobody liked that purple haired rat ball thing anyway. It was annoyingly grabby.”

“Do you realize how much paperwork I had to do?”

“ _Y_ _es_ but things will be different this time! I learned from my mistake-“ Katsuki seriously doubted it. She and Kaminari were responsible for seventy-five percent of the accidents in their sector. If he had been in charge, he would’ve fired them a long ass time ago. “-so can we hurry and go? 3212's in his room, right?”

Aizawa sighed again. He usually did that when talking to their group as a whole. “Yeah, the anesthesia should’ve worn off by now.” He stood, and Katsuki scoffed at how antsy the rest of the room was to leave. It was like he was working with children. “Today is just for observation. No physical tests yet.” Aizawa grabbed a notebook before sidling past the group. “I’m going to ask him the usual questions, and then no one goes near the room for the rest of the day. Got it?”

“Yes sir!” The group responded, and Katsuki already knew that rule was going to be broken. Camera feed for new arrivals usually wasn’t enough for the idiots, and they would secretly visit whatever abomination that piqued their interest. He was sure Aizawa knew but didn’t care much. As long as shit didn’t go south. 

But apparently, Aizawa wasn’t in the mood for disobedience today. “I’m serious. This is an important find, and we can’t risk any of your shenanigans today.”

“Yes sir,” the group repeated, the energy having lowered quite a bit. Katsuki rolled his eyes at their disappointed faces.

Aizawa led the way to the chamber, navigating a spider web of hallways. Sliding doors and a multitude of footsteps were the only things to echo off the metallic walls, barring fleeting hellos from patrolling Class C personnel that Katsuki didn’t bother responding to. There was no reason to talk to them unless he had to bark orders and send them where they needed to be. 

There was around five minutes of walking until Aizawa reached a door that only personnel of Class B rank or higher could gain access to. A high-pitched beep rang in Katsuki’s ears when Aizawa held his badge up to the scanner. They all stepped into the revealed corridor that led to the room described on the document. 

Metal walls surrounded it - which was the norm around here - there was a large pane of glass to the right of the wall they were facing, and the temperature controlled chamber that led inside of the room was to the left of it. 

Aizawa strolled over to the pane of glass, and Kirishima threw Katsuki a thrilled look. Katsuki responded with an unenthused glare as they stayed behind Aizawa, keeping some distance between them as the sector head positioned himself. Aizawa cleared his throat, handed the notebook off to Deku, and pressed a button below the pane.

A large slab of metal and other fire-proof materials swiftly slid down, revealing the inside of the chamber. Katsuki hadn’t been expecting much because of the document, and the paper's words rang true; there was nothing in there besides a tiny room area tucked in the far corner, a couch in the middle of the room, and...the SCP occupying it. 

Katsuki scowled when the group shuffled a little closer to see, and he nudged Kirishima out of the way to prevent his stupid hair from blocking his view. Aizawa didn’t say anything as they did so, and Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the new arrival.

The couch was facing the window, but the SCP had his back to them while his body stretched out on the green-tinted cushions. He had nothing but a pair of ragged shorts on, so the lean muscles traveling up and down his back was for all to see. Well, except for Katsuki. His attention was drawn to the _worst_ dye job he’d ever seen. He knew that it was somehow natural, but if he saw someone in public with that kind of hair, he’d drag them to the closest barbershop himself. It looked worse than Kirishima’s, and that was saying a fuckton.

“He...just looks like a regular person,” Uraraka whispered at his side, eyes glued to the entity. “I wouldn’t have given him a second glance if I saw him walking around in the city.”

“I sure would!” Ashido grinned. “I’ve got a thing for backs, and look at those muscles!”

Iida looked at her with wide eyes. “Ashido! The first thing to notice about a SCP is not its attractiveness!”

“Hey, I calls it as I sees it-“

“Oh my fucking God,” Katsuki began to growl, but Aizawa’s sharp voice shut them all up.

“ _Hush,”_ he bit, and the look he gave them over his shoulder was equal parts agitated and tired. Iida, Ashido, and Uraraka snapped their mouths closed and Katsuki tch’d under his breath before Aizawa refocused on the SCP. “He’s not asleep. Check the thermostat.”

He nodded at a place beside the window, and Katsuki looked over in the direction to find blinking numbers that read- “Ten? The hell?” He couldn’t control the surprise that leaked into his voice. It was that cold in there even with the overhead vents? The normal temperature of the facility was seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

Another look from Aizawa prevented him, and the others, from saying much else. After a moment, the sector head reached up and knocked on the window twice. The SCP didn’t respond. Aizawa spoke anyway, raising his voice. “Can you understand me?”

SCP-3212 didn’t move. The temperature dropped five degrees. 

The pen in Deku’s hand went crazy as he jotted down notes, and Kaminari’s voice was the quietest Katsuki’s ever heard him. “Whoa...what does that even mean?”

If Aizawa had heard, he didn’t say anything. His eyes remained on the SCP. “Was that a yes?”

The temperature dropped five more. Ice crystals were creeping along the edges of the glass. 

“The bastard’s understanding _something_ ,” Katsuki quietly grunted. 3212 wouldn’t change the temperature after Aizawa spoke if he was totally clueless. 

Aizawa hummed, probably going through multiple options in his mind like he did whenever a SCP came in that showed the promise of communication. Which wasn’t that often. SCP-3212 still hadn’t moved, and Aizawa watched him, examining, before opening his mouth to ask, “Do you want me to leave?”

The thermostat leaped to a hundred and ten degrees. 

Gasps sounded around Katsuki, and he watched with a frown as the ice crystals instantly melted, water droplets running down the window. 

Deku’s pen doubled in speed, and Kaminari gaped like dying fish. “I...think _that_ is a yes…”

“Definitely, dude…” Kirishima whispered back. 

Katsuki really didn’t understand his colleagues. A minute ago, they couldn’t wait to meet this 'new and exciting' arrival, and now look at them. Did they think the document was lying about the damn injuries?

Aizawa wasn’t fazed. He continued without missing a beat, “I can’t do that just yet. I need to ask a few questions to get to know you, if that’s alright?”

One-twenty, one-thirty, one thirty-five. The temperature steadily rose.

Aizawa pressed on, changing tactics. “You haven’t had food for a while. I’m not sure if you eat.” The numbers suddenly stopped rising. “Are you hungry?”

If the pause in the rising temperature didn’t prove that the SCP understood, the way the numbers suddenly dropped down to the negatives and back up again, fluctuating wildly, sure as hell did. 

Then, the thermostat flashed seventy degrees. It didn’t shift at all, even the numbers behind the decimal remained solid zeros. 

The glowing screen was still, and so was everyone else as they watched the SCP, watching and waiting for _something._

Katsuki swore a whole ass minute ticked by before there was movement. SCP-3212 shifted on the couch, and again, Katsuki heard intakes of breath around him. He kept his eyes on the SCP as he sat up with one hand, running fingers through the awful hair with the other. He eventually turned to face them, and Ashido produced an inhuman squeak.

“Oh no, he's _hot!”_ she loudly whispered, and Katsuki pinched her elbow enough for her to wince.

“I mean...she’s got a point,” Kaminari agreed with her because of course he would. “Are we sure that he doesn’t have any seduction powers too?”

“Definitely not!” Deku argued before cradling his chin in thought. “It didn’t say anything about that in the document…”

Katsuki was surrounded by idiots. To maintain his sanity, he blocked them out as he examined the SCP’s so-called ‘attractive’ features. Everything the document had listed was there. The hair had been obvious at first sight, but the burn and heterochromia was visible now. What wasn’t written down was how guarded and chilled those eyes were as they scanned Aizawa before flickering over to the rest of the group. The severity of the burn hadn’t been detailed either, but it had easily been a third degree burn sometime in the past. Interestingly enough, that was the only blemish on his overwise spotless body. 

Katsuki gritted his teeth when Ashido murmured something about abs and a chiseled jaw. He was just going to pretend that she had said something competent because this freak of nature wasn’t anywhere near attractive. Especially not when he wasn’t even a _human._ Like what the fuck.

At this point, SCP-3212 was sitting upright on the couch, slightly slouched and peering through his bicolored bangs at Aizawa. His face was a blank slate; the only emotion present came from his eyes. They were hard and cold yet observant. The eyes of a predator caught in an unexpected trap.

The group’s inane mutters died out when Aizawa spoke once more. “So, it’s safe to say that you can understand me?”

No response visually from the SCP. The temperature rose ten degrees before dropping back down to room temperature.

Katsuki slapped Kirishima’s elbow away when he nudged him in excitement.

“Good.” Aizawa folded his arms, voice remaining steady. “You can do that, but can you speak?”

The number dropped to thirty and stayed there. 

“Aw, man!” Kaminari pouted under his breath. “The first one to understand us and not be mentally insane is freakin’ mute!”

“If he's not fucking with us,” Katsuki said a little louder than necessary, and SCP-3212 immediately made eye contact with him beyond Aizawa’s imposing figure. Steely blue and grey meet heated reds, and like hell Katsuki was going to back down. They were the ones in charge here, not this freak. 

However, there wasn’t a need for a clash of pride. The SCP blinked, and his expression softened somehow even though there was barely any expression shown in the first place. His head subtly tilted, hair swaying, as something akin to confusion - or interest? Hell if Katsuki knew - flashed across his face. 

The temperature had returned to seventy. 

Deku was mumbling incomprehensibly, hand basically a blur as he wrote. 

Katsuki felt everyone else staring between him and the SCP who still hadn’t broken eye contact, and this wasn’t what he thought would happen. Because it wasn’t a show of power anymore, Katsuki looked away and glared at Aizawa. “The hell are you doing? Are you done asking him shit?”

Aizawa stared for another moment before sighing. “No, but if you speak like that about him again, you’re not staying for the rest of the questioning.”

Katsuki crossed his arms and huffed. “Yeah, whatever. Just hurry it up. It’s not my fault the freak is confusing.”

The numbers plummeted to a staggering negative fifteen degrees, and eyes that were just as chilled returned with it before the SCP snapped his gaze to the floor. There was a frown now. Subtle but there nonetheless.

Aizawa activated the heater to prevent ice from completely covering the window.

“I...think you hurt his feelings, Kacchan,” Deku whispered the obvious, but Katsuki didn’t care. It was the truth. This SCP wasn’t different from the thousands of other freakshows held in containment here or in other locations just because he was smart enough to hold a conversation. If this could even be called one. 

Aizawa was giving Katsuki an unimpressed look. “You should leave.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes and turned on his heels. “Whatever. I don’t have to be here for this anyway.” He waved a hand over his shoulder. “Good luck getting what you can from that personified IcyHot patch.”

That earned him a snort from Kaminari and Ashido and a disappointed sigh from Aizawa as he left. He walked out of the door without another word.

* * *

Apparently, they didn’t have any luck in getting the SCP to answer any questions. 

At least, that’s what Katsuki saw as he watched the camera footage from his office, enjoying a cup of joe. His feet were propped up on his desk, arm folded behind his head, with his attention trained on SCP-3212’s chamber as well as the numbers on the bottom corner showing the temperature inside.

He couldn’t see his co-workers because of the angle of the camera in the room - it was positioned over the entrance - but he could hear Aizawa’s questions and the complete silence that came from the SCP. He hadn’t moved from his position on the couch after Katsuki left. The temperature was higher than when Katsuki walked out because of the heater, but it was still a chilly twenty-two degrees in the chamber. And the number hadn’t fluctuated since Katsuki got himself comfortable in his chair. 

_“Do you know where you are?”_

No response. 

_“Do you understand what you are?”_

Still nothing. 

_“Have you lived on Mt. Fuji for long?”_

A giant sack of fuck-all.

There was a brief pause before Aizawa said, _“You know, this will be easier for all of us if you would cooperate. You were answering us before.”_ Another pause. _“Did the man who left upset you?”_

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his drink. This was starting to sound more like a trip to a guidance counselor than an interrogation. 

Then, for some reason, that question gained a response. That response was 3212 laying down on the couch, rolling so his back was facing the window. 

“Are you serious?” Katsuki asked incredulously, frowning at the screen. “Is he fucking _sulking?_ I can’t believe this shit.”

“Can’t believe what?”

Katsuki would’ve startled at the sudden voice if he hadn’t been working at this nightmarish facility for nearly four years. He’d seen so much shit that it would take a _lot_ to scare him. 

He peered over his shoulder at a curious Kirishima who had just walked into their shared office, and he vaguely gestured to the computer screen. “He did that after Aizawa asked if I pissed him off.”

Kirishima stood to the side of him and scratched at his too red head. “Well…I can’t really be surprised if that’s the case. Calling him a freak was kinda mean, dude. Especially since he can understand us.”

Katsuki glared at him. “What, and I’m supposed to care about his damn insecurities?”

Kirishima chuckled. “We do it for 096.”

Katsuki didn’t want to be reminded of that pale, skeleton-looking asshole. It was annoying as hell to maintain. “That’s because we’d die horribly if we look at that fucker.” He spoke around the rim of his cup. “I don’t care about hurting IcyHot’s feelings.”

Kirishima grinned knowingly as he took another sip of coffee. “You’re really proud of that name, huh?”

“Hell yeah,” Katsuki smirked after swallowing. Then he tipped his cup at the red-head, raising a brow. “Why are you up here? Got bored of the bastard already?”

Kirishima shook his head and walked over to the handful of lockers lined up in the opposite wall. He opened one of them with a grating creak. “Nah, I came to suit up.” He grabbed the temperature-controlled suit inside, patting some dust off of it. “Me and Iida are gonna go in to give the guy some food.”

Katsuki frowned, not expecting that but it made sense. The SCP had reacted when Aizawa mentioned food. Granted, he had been unconscious for the last few days. “What, a steak?” He hoped his sarcasm was palpable.

Kirishima barked out a laugh, unzipping the suit and stepping inside. “A sandwich. Midoriya’s making it.”

“Deku?” Katsuki huffed. “I wouldn’t trust him with anything in the kitchen. He’d somehow manage to poison the damn thing.”

Grinning through protective headwear, Kirishima teased, “I’m guessing you’re still the main one cooking at the apartment?”

“The kitchen would never get used if I wasn’t, and we’d starve to death in a week,” Katsuki sneered, watching as Kirishima finished the preparations.

The red-head noticed and bobbed his head in the general direction he had come from. “Y’know, I think Aizawa’s done with the questioning since IcyHot’s being stubborn. You could come back and watch in person-“

Katsuki didn’t let him finish, hopping out of his seat and aiming for his designated lockers. “I’m doing more than that. I’m going in too.” 

“Really?” There was laughter in Kirishima’s voice, and Katsuki didn’t appreciate it. “I thought you didn’t like him?”

“I don’t.” Katsuki snapped as he checked the suit for any rips or holes. It had been a while since he last wore it. “I gotta be in there to protect you jackasses if he decides to attack.”

“So manly, Bakubro!”

“Shut up.” Standing in the suit, Katsuki winced at the nickname, and speaking of nicknames- “You’re not allowed to call him IcyHot. Come up with your own damn name.”

Kirishima slumped. “Seriously? Come on! Yours is so cool!”

“Was that a fucking pun?”

Kirishima cheekily smirked, and Katsuki left before he did something drastic. He could put the suit fully on during the walk back.

* * *

Aizawa didn’t say anything to him when Katsuki appeared in proper attire, ready to go. He simply sighed before knocking on the window of the chamber. SCP- 3212 ignored the noise until Aizawa said, “We have a sandwich for you. Three of us are coming in so you can eat it, and we all will leave you alone afterwards. Should they be cautious of you?”

At first, twenty-two continued to flash on the thermostat, but then slowly but surely, the numbers crept up and up until seventy was reached. 

Aizawa shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s as much of an invitation we’re going to get.” He faced Katsuki, Kirishima, and Iida and lowered his voice. “Stay vigilant in there. Anything could happen.”

Iida nodded. “We’ll always be on guard.”

Deku handed what seemed to be a ham and cheese sandwich somewhat wrapped in a napkin over to Kirishima. “Hopefully he’ll eat this…” Green eyes shifted over to Katsuki. “And, try not to provoke him, okay Kacchan?”

Katsuki scoffed. “It depends on what that bastard does.” Things could go smooth or rocky. He didn’t have a care which way.

“He knows not to!” Kirishima reassured the group before heading over to the entrance of the room. Katsuki shuffled after him, hating that he felt like he was engulfed in insulated bubble wrap. He hoped that they wouldn’t need to wear these damn suits often. He forgot how terrible they were. 

A beep threw him out of his grumbling thoughts, and afterwards the telltale hiss of decompressing air filled the space. A couple seconds later, the door in front of them slid open to reveal a small room, a gateway to the bigger chamber. Iida pressed a switch once they were all inside, and the door closed behind them. There was a moment with more hissing before a metal slab on the opposite side slid to the left, and just like that, they had access to SCP-3212 - aka IcyHot.

They were looking into the room, the occupied couch sitting dead center of their field of view. The SCP had sat up at this point, still facing the window but steely eyes were glancing in their direction, staring them down through hanging hair.

When Kirishima hesitated for a millisecond too long, Katsuki didn’t think twice before taking the matter into his own hands. He snatched the sandwich, held his head high, and entered the room properly while marching like he owned the place. He heard quick footsteps behind him, but he didn’t break eye contact with 3212 as he steadily closed the distance.

“The temperature dropped five degrees,” Aizawa told him from behind the glass, but he brushed that fact aside. 

“He’s not going to attack me because apparently he’s hungry as shit.” Katsuki didn’t pause in his stride until he was right in front of the SCP, thrusting the sandwich out for him to take. “I’m right, aren’t I, bastard?”

He expected a flash of anger or irritation in those eyes, but again, that look of...something _else_ flashed in them instead. 3212 just kept staring, eyebrows creasing just slightly, and Katsuki scowled before shaking the sandwich in the other’s face. “You’re gonna take it or not? We all know you can understand me, so don’t fucking play dumb.”

He ignored the sharp intake of breath from Iida.

IcyHot stared for a moment longer before dropping his gaze onto the sandwich. Pale fingers didn’t hesitate in grabbing the offering, surprisingly gentle as he plucked it from Katsuki’s grasp. 3212 lifted the bread and eyed the contents before taking a bite of the sandwich. There were no signs of complaints or of gratitude. His face remained blank as he chewed; Katsuki couldn’t see his eyes anymore because of how his bangs hung. 

“Hope you like it!” Kirishima said with a smile. IcyHot didn’t acknowledge him, taking another bite. Kirishima chuckled. “Let’s leave him to it, guys!” He turned around to head to the exit, and Iida nodded, following him but keeping IcyHot in his periphery. 

Katsuki gave the SCP one last look before scoffing and walking away. The idiots would be bored of him in a week, if not before then. It was always a cycle, and it wasn’t going to break just because of-

His train of thought derailed when his foot suddenly slipped out from under him. “Gah!” he yelled as he crashed to the floor, landing hard on his back. “Shit!” he cursed, swallowing a groan at the sharp pain, before looking to find what the hell made him fall. He glowered once he found the obvious culprit.

It was ice. 

Ice that had formed right where he had been stepping, ice that led right back to where IcyHot was sitting with a smug ass look on his face.

Well, actually, he was still as expressionless as ever. However, he was staring _right_ at Katsuki, continuing to eat like nothing had happened, and that riled Katsuki up as much as if he’d been laughing right at him.

“You _asshole-“_ Katsuki growled out, getting back up to his feet. He was going to teach that damn freak a lesson. He didn’t know how yet, but he was sure it would come to him once he made his way back over there. 

Unfortunately for him, four hands locked around his arms. 

“Stop, bro!” Kirishima yelled as Katsuki struggled against their grip on him. “It was probably just revenge about what you said earlier!”

Katsuki continued fighting, glaring at that calm and collected fucker as Iida barked in his ear, “Bakugo, you shouldn’t! This is against protocol!”

He whipped his head to the side to glare at Iida. “Do you think that I give a-“

“Kat...suki?”

All of the fight and rage drained out of Katsuki, it being replaced by unadulterated shock that chilled his veins. That voice didn’t belong to any of his coworkers. It came from in front of him. His name had been said quietly and slowly, enough to draw out the cracks in every syllable.

Katsuki’s focus was trained on Iida’s stunned face, and he almost didn’t want to look at 3212 again. But then his brain kicked back into gear - because he wasn’t afraid of _anything,_ dammit - and he snapped his attention back to IcyHot. 

He was staring right back at Katsuki, all stoicism melted away to reveal surprise and...recognition? What the hell?!

“You...can actually talk?” Kirishima was the first to fully recover, voice equal parts awed and wary.

“Who fucking cares about that?” A tornado was running through Katsuki’s brain right now because how did he know his name? How the _fuck_ did he know? “Who’s the asshole who told you my first name, huh?” Katsuki yelled at the SCP before directing his words to the window. “Did any of you say it? You had to, right? Tell me!”

Aizawa’s eyes had never left IcyHot. “No one has, Bakugo.”

“But someone had to because this fucker couldn’t have known otherwise!” Katsuki leaned forward as far as he could with Iida and Kirishima holding him back. He narrowed his eyes at 3212, snarling, “How the fuck do you know?!”

IcyHot continued to stare at him, no, _through_ him. Those previously cold eyes were wide and distant, glazed over. The forgotten sandwich shook in his trembling hands. In a rough voice too detached and hollow to match that stunned expression, IcyHot whispered, “I know you.”

Then, the sandwich burst into flames.

Kirishima and Iida gasped while Aizawa ordered them to get out of there, that the temperature inside was skyrocketing. The vents kicked into full gear as well as the sprinklers, and he heard the air conditioning blast; however, Katsuki still felt the heat permeating his suit. It had to be approaching boiling temperatures in the chamber, and they had to leave _now._

So Katsuki did, but not without catching the deep sorrow in 3212’s gaze as he watched them go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCP-096 aka the 'Shy Guy'. Whoever looks upon its face would cause the SCP severe distress, and 096 will hunt down and kill the person who did so. Viewing its face in person, on video, or on a photograph will all end in the same result.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support! Here's chapter two!

“Dude.”

“Shut up.”

“ _Dude.”_

“Shut the hell up Sparky or I swear I will-“

“Sorry, can’t do that! I’m not a master brooder like you are. I’ve reached my limit of silence.”

Kaminari grinned up at him from his squatting position, and Katsuki would’ve kicked the idiot over if he hadn’t been in the middle of maintenance. He was working inside of a wall panel, rewiring the light sources in 017’s chamber to a new generator that had less of a chance of spewing smoke. Hell would break loose if that shadow thing got out. 

So Katsuki just glared at the one he’d been unfortunately paired up today before pointedly looking in the opposite direction. There was no one else in the grey hallway but them, the others of their group spread around the sector searching for crap to fix. Aizawa had ordered them to do so after that damn fiasco earlier.

Though, working with Kaminari wasn’t terrible if for the only fact that, despite being an idiot, he knew his way around wires and electrical shit. Less work for Katsuki to attempt to do. 

But a _severe_ downside was that there weren’t many ways to shut him up.

“You don’t expect me to lose my freaking _mind_ about this?” Kaminari kept babbling, flipping a pair of pliers in the air and catching it. He then pointed the tool at Katsuki. “3212 said he _knew_ you! How does that make any sense?”

“It _doesn’t,”_ Katsuki snapped. “Like how the rest of this damn place doesn’t make any sense. The bastard doesn’t know me. He probably said that just to get in my head and fry my brain or something.”

Kaminari mulled it over as he put the pliers to work. “I mean yeah, weirder stuff has happened, but what if he actually means it? Like, what if he stalked you before becoming a hermit on the mountain?”

Katsuki gave him a look.

“What? Just thinking of all the options here.”

“Don’t strain yourself.”

“Ha ha,” Kaminari said with a small pout. “I’m just saying that it’s _really_ weird that he knew your name. Seriously freaky.” He stuck his tongue out in concentration while leaning closer to the panel. “And the fact that he can talk is crazy too! Wonder why he lied about it earlier?”

“Who fucking knows?” Katsuki was done thinking about it, and so should everyone else. Or, at least they could leave all that for Aizawa to figure out. Being reminded of IcyHot pissed him off. His back still hurt like hell. “Are you almost done?”

“Nope!” Kaminari’s grin returned. “More time to talk about _IcyHot_ , yeah? Cute name, by the way.”

Katsuki seriously debated kicking him over. “Fuck off. It fits the bastard.”

“Eh, I would’ve gone with FreezerBurn myself. Or…HellFreeze? Something like that. Something awesome sounding.”

“It was meant as an _insult,_ dammit.” Katsuki growled, not knowing why he was defending himself against this idiot. “You can call the freak whatever you want. I don’t care.”

Kaminari paused in his work, raising a brow at him. “Freak, huh?” He snorted before returning to the open panel. “Yeah, I’m not surprised 3212 made you fall like that. It had been so hard not to burst into laughter behind Aizawa.”

“Do you _want_ to be electrocuted, Sparky?!” 

“At the risk of that shadow demon coming after you? You wouldn’t dare.”

Katsuki wondered if death by absorption was painless. 

As he pondered that, Kaminari continued talking about IcyHot, from his powers to his looks to his intelligence, and Katsuki was a master of tuning the blonde out after working for so long with him. It was too bad that his brain decided to focus on the way the rest of his team reacted after their experience with 3212, Katsuki being bombarded with questions and him ignoring every single one of them because they were stupid. He honestly didn’t know why he was the only one smart enough to think that the stunt was nothing other than a dumbass trick. Even Iida and freaking Deku were following along with Shitty Hair and Sparky. It was freaking annoying. 

Apparently, IcyHot wasn’t as sane as they thought he was. Simple as that.

Hell, IcyHot even believed that the sad-ass look on his face would affect someone like Katsuki. That alone was proof of insanity. He had no idea why he singled him out, but that was mistake number one. Dumb asshole.

“...you listening to me?”

Katsuki was thrown out of his thoughts by Kaminari’s voice. He was standing now with a frown on his face. “What?” Katsuki grunted. “Did you fuck something up?”

Kaminari rolled his eyes. “ _Nooo_ , I just find it interesting that you rushed me earlier, but when I say I’m done, you completely ignore me. How messed up is that?” Katsuki didn’t bother responding, and Kaminari pouted again. “Some friend you are.”

“We’re not friends.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that so much that the words are watered down at this point.”

“Well maybe if you took the damn _hint_ -“

“Nah.” Kaminari turned on his heels and started to walk off, footsteps echoing in the hall and mixing with the buzz of the overhead lights. “So, let’s see!” He unfolded a piece of paper while Katsuki glared at his head from behind, following along. “Do you want to check up on SCP-173 or 1424 next?”

“Is that even a fucking question?”

Kaminari laughed. “Ammonia puppy it is!”

* * *

After visiting those two SCPs - spending more time than necessary with 1424, in the proper suits of course - Katsuki had to endure Kaminari’s chatter as they continued patrolling their assigned part of the sector. He was relieved that Sparky had dropped the subject of IcyHot, but Kaminari repeatedly stopping to talk to Class C guards turned that relief into annoyance. Katsuki swore that the idiot could have a ten minute conversation with _anyone_ , no matter who it was. 

When they _finally_ finished their rounds, it was lunchtime and Katsuki made a beeline for his office as Kaminari paused yet _again_ to talk to some extra. He was hungry, and even though they were supposed to travel together, he was sure the idiot could be able to get back to his office without pissing someone or something off. 

Entering his office, he saw Kirishima already enjoying lunch at his own desk across from Katsuki’s. “Oh, hey man!” He bit into his cheeseburger and asked, “Everything went smoothly for you and Kaminari?”

Katsuki grunted as an answer before saying, “Eat with your fucking mouth closed. If I step in anything that comes out of your mouth, Imma be pissed.”

Kirishima swallowed before smiling in apology. “Sorry, Bakubro!”

Katsuki glared at him as he headed for the mini fridge resting by the wall. He was too hungry to start an argument about calling him that. Instead, he took out a container of pasta and tossed it into the microwave on a shelf above the fridge. He then glared at the time ticking down, wanting it to run out faster. 

“When you’re done, come over here! I’ve been watching 3212 and-“

Katsuki resisted pulling out his hair. Just barely. Instead, he clenched his hands into fists at his sides. “For the _love_ of - first Kaminari, and now you? Is a break too much to ask, dammit?!”

Kirishma had the gall to laugh. “You can’t blame us, man! He’s interesting! You can’t expect all of us to hate him just because he tripped you up.”

Katsuki gritted his teeth so hard that he was surprised they didn’t shatter and yanked open the microwave door once the time reached one second. He didn’t bother responding to that cheeky bastard as he stomped over to his desk, his back facing that stupid smile aimed in his direction. Dropping down into his chair, he unlocked his computer and checked the cameras with one hand, shoveling hot noodles into his mouth with the other. During breaks, it was a good idea to check on the SCPs - the ones they could look at, anyway - on the security cameras just to make sure no shit was going down. He was avoiding IcyHot’s chamber out of spite.

“Aw c’mon! You can’t be mad at him forever!” Kirishima said, and Katsuki cursed when he heard wheels rolling across the floor.

“The hell I can’t,” he snapped back, glaring when the red-head wheeled over right beside him. “Go back to your own damn desk!"

“I will in a sec!” Kirishima wiped his greasy hand on his pants before reaching for Katsuki’s mouse. Katsuki growled and snatched it away from him, hating that everyone had decided to be extra annoying today. Another thing to blame that half-and-half bastard for. Kirishima continued to reach, “Aren’t you at least a little curious, dude?”

Katsuki scowled, holding the mouse away from him. “No! Leave me alone!”

“But - oh, hey Midoriya!”

“Hah?” Katsuki whirled his head around to face the door of their office only to see no green-haired nerd standing there. The space was empty, and so was his hand that had been holding the mouse. Kirishima laughed in triumph, and Katsuki glared death at him. “What the hell, Shitty Hair?!”

Kirishima simply bit into his cheeseburger and hummed happily as he navigated the computer, turning his body in a way so he acted as a shield against Katsuki’s rage and clawing fingers. 

“Give that back or a swear to fuck that you’ll regret ever working here.”

“I won’t ever regret it as long as I have my friends!” Kirishima responded in that irritating chirpy voice, his smile way too bright for the situation. Katsuki couldn’t understand how someone could be so damn _happy_ all the time. “Okay, look!”

Katsuki locked his gaze onto his pasta, withdrawing his reaching hands and instead ignoring Kirishima as a whole. He was starting to wonder if eating lunch in the mess hall would be better than this, despite being surrounded by lower classed extras. 

“Dude, he basically built an ice sculpture of you.”

“What the shit-“ Katsuki focused on the screen because that jackass better _not_ have, but it turned out that he was tricked fucking _again_ when he saw nothing of the sort in 3212’s room. Kirishima burst out laughing, and Katsuki snarled, “I will kill you.”

“Nah, I’m your best friend!” he responded through the laughs. Katsuki debated letting 173 out and leading it right to this fucker. Kirishima gestured at the screen. “Had to get you to look! It’s no sculpture, but look in his hands!”

Katsuki really didn’t want to entertain any of this, but he knew that Kirishima was going to keep bothering him if he kept pushing. So, reluctantly, he returned his attention to the camera feed, focusing on the SCP sitting upright on the couch. 

IcyHot was somewhat hunched over, looking down in his hands. It was nothing but a block of ice, and Katsuki had to take a deep breath to keep from boiling over. “You wanted me to look at a stupid piece of ice?!”

“Not just the ice, bro!” Kirishima’s expression turned thoughtful as he explained, “Look at his face, too. I mean, it looks like he’s thinking _real_ hard about something.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes; he couldn’t believe that this was what Kirishima was so adamant about. “The bastard’s probably thinking about making an ice pick to stab one of us the next time we go in there.” He ate some more noodles, glaring at the SCP through the screen. IcyHot was just sitting there, turning the block of ice around and around in his fingers. His face was back to being expressionless. 

Kirishima snorted. “Nah, I don’t think so. He would’ve done that the first time if that was his plan. Doesn’t seem like the type to do that, though.”

“Doesn’t seem like the-“ Katsuki was going to take a long nap when he got back to his apartment. Deku was just going to have to starve until he woke up. “This isn’t a damn prison! We’re not talking about your common everyday shitty criminal! SCPs don’t need to be the _type,_ they can do whatever they want whenever they want to fucking do it. IcyHot’s no different.”

Kirishima sighed. “I know, I know, but just look at him, man!” Katsuki didn’t want to, but he did so with the most unimpressed stare he could manage. Unfortunately, Kirishima wasn’t bothered by it. “He’s totally different! When’s the last time you’ve seen an SCP be so...depressed?”

“Don’t know and I really don’t care,” Katsuki bit, chewing his lunch and wanting this to be over.

“Do you think it’s because he somehow knows you, but you don’t recognize him?” 

Katsuki took another deep breath to keep from snapping his chopsticks in half. “He. Doesn’t. Know. Me,” he hissed through clenched teeth. 

Kirishima held up an innocent hand. “I’m just saying-“

“Stop doing that.”

Kirishima gave him a slightly exasperated glance, and Katsuki returned it tenfold. The red-head opened his mouth to say something else, but then movement on the screen caught his attention. His face lit up in curiosity. “Oh, he’s actually making something!”

“Fantastic.” Katsuki pumped as much sarcasm he could into that one word, watching IcyHot continue to turn the block in his hands. Then time however, water was dripping to the floor as fingers glided over the cold surface. “Ice pick,” he said between chews. “Guaranteed.” 

Kirishima nudged him, and he didn’t retaliate - this time - as the ice in IcyHot’s hands started to take on a form. At first, the block had been turned into a cylinder, but then a large hole was carved at the bottom of it, a heated palm pushing through like the ice was soft snow instead. The shape was more of a short tunnel now, and Katsuki continued to watch for no other reason than to possibly see the ice accidentally slip through 3212’s hands and shatter against the floor. That was what he told himself, anyway.

Fingers continued to shape the ice, rounding out the bottom until it was smooth before moving to the opposite side, creating dips and peaks until the ice almost looked like a-

“Did he...just make a crown?” Kirishima asked, his voice portraying the exact amount of confusion that Katsuki felt. For a split second, anyway.

“Literally insane.” Katsuki felt validated in his feelings about the SCP. There was nothing special about him. His arrival just resulted in another chamber to keep clean. “He’s going to build a shitty throne next.”

Kirishima couldn’t hold back a chuckle at that one. But it quickly died off when he leaned forward, squinting his eyes. “Wait, is he writing something?”

“Writing?” Katsuki saw that now IcyHot was using a dull nail to chip something into the face of the crown, but with the camera’s angle, they couldn’t see it clearly. “He’s just probably drawing some stupid design.” 

Kirishima didn’t respond, watching, and Katsuki waited until 3212 showed off a smiley face or something similar

That didn’t happen. 

When IcyHot finished whatever he was doing, he held the crown in his hands, simply staring at it. The temperature in the room was fluctuating up and down between fifteen and twenty degrees, and Katsuki had no idea what that meant. This was like trying to find the meaning in the mannerisms of a damn animal. 

Eventually, the numbers steadied at twenty-seven, and IcyHot sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. After reopening them, he snapped off the tip of one of the spikes on the crown and looked up at the camera, eyes searching. There was no way IcyHot knew that someone was on the other side of the screen, but Katsuki frowned anyway. It felt like the bastard was looking at _him_ specifically, like 3212 knew he would be watching. 

A handful of seconds ticked by as IcyHot held the stare, the fingers around the crown tense until they placed the ice on the back of the couch, balancing it up there. The camera could see it better at this angle. Once there was no risk of it falling, IcyHot turned the crown until what he had etched into the ice was visible. 

“K. E. M.?” Kirishima read, eyebrows ceasing in confusion. “What does that mean?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes as IcyHot laid down on the couch, leaving the crown where it was. “The hell should I know? It’s nothing but-“ He cut himself off when something out of the deep dark depths of his memory crawled its way back to the surface, stealing his breath as it did so. 

Kirishima’s worry shifted to him now. “Bakugo? What’s wrong?”

“What the hell…” Katsuki whispered in shock. He couldn’t believe that he was seeing a replica of something he hadn’t thought about in more than a _decade._ Katsuki slammed his pasta container on the desk and shot out of his chair, startling Kirishima. “What the _hell!”_

“Baku-“

“Knowing my fucking name was one thing, but _that-“_ Seeing Kirishima’s deepening confusion and concern, Katsuki took a breath and quickly asked, “Remember that fucking kid’s show King Explosion?”

“Uh, yeah I think so…” Kirishima thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. “The one where the superhero always won with explosions, right?”

“Yeah, I was obsessed with that shit as a kid.” Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the screen. “Had all kinds of toys and crap. But I also had a crown that had the show’s initials that looked _exactly_ like IcyHot’s. Cracked spike and fucking all because I dropped it one day.” He had been devastated for all of two seconds before deciding that it had looked even more badass that way. 

Kirishima’s jaw was scraping the ground. “Whoa, seriously?! Hold on…” He tilted his head. “Where does the M come from then?”

Katsuki hoped he wouldn’t catch on to that. Pushing past the embarrassment, he forced out, “It stands for Murder. I had carved it in.”

Kirishima stared for a bit. “You called yourself King Explosion Murder? As a kid?”

“I was a little shit back then.”

“Was?” Kirishima said with a smirk, and Katsuki redirected his glare at him. Kirishima chuckled, the bastard. “I’ll tease you about that later, but back to 3212-“ He tapped his chin. “-if he knows that, then it really means that he knows you somehow!”

Katsuki smacked him on the back of his head, ignoring the ‘ow!’ that came afterwards. “No it _doesn’t,_ dumbass!” He refused to believe that. He would have remembered seeing that head of hair in his nightmares. “He got that information the same way he got my name!”

Kirishima rubbed his head. “But how if it’s not because you’ve met before?”

Katsuki gritted his teeth, glaring at 3212’s back, before saying, “The freak knows, and I’m going to pry the answers out of him.” He then stomped away from his desk, leaving behind his half-eaten pasta. 

Footsteps scrambled behind him as he marched out of the office. “Right now? But Aizawa said-“

“I _know_ what he said,” Katsuki hissed, going down the hall and straight for their boss’s office. “And I’m sure that when he listens to what _I_ have to say, he’ll give me the go ahead to talk to that halfie.”

“When will I ever be as brave as you, Bakubro?”

“Never, and stop fucking calling me that.”

Katsuki led the way, passing a couple empty offices because the rest of his team was slow as hell at doing their jobs, until he reached Aizawa’s. The door was open, and he strolled inside without a second thought. Aizawa was sitting at his desk, frowning at his computer screen until he noticed Katsuki’s appearance.

Then, he was frowning at him, eyeing his face and saying, “I’m guessing that his crown has something to do with you.”

Katsuki wasn’t surprised that he had caught on so quickly. Granted, his pissed expression could’ve been a big giveaway. “Yeah, it’s something out of my fucking childhood, and I need that bastard to answer some questions.”

Aizawa sighed. It was probably the biggest one yet today. “You heard me when I said that no one else was going to that room today.” 

Katsuki crossed his arms. “Yeah, but he obviously wants me down there. And I want him to cut the shit and tell me what the hell is-“

“I can’t have you go down there and rile him up again.” Aizawa interrupted him, tone stern. He glanced at the screen before giving Katsuki a pointed look. “He is unpredictable at the moment, and we don’t know the full extent of his abilities. We hadn’t realized that he could create fire until this morning.”

Katsuki wasn’t giving up. He stepped closer, holding Aizawa’s gaze. “That’s why I need to talk to the bastard! He had basically clammed up after answering like two questions, and now that he pulled this shit, you don’t want me to pry some more answers out of him? He got _something_ to say.”

Aizawa closed his eyes for a moment, heavily exhaling, before opening them again. He subtly shook his head and muttered, “Who would’ve thought that the biggest headache here wouldn’t be one of the SCPs?” Katsuki didn’t take the insult personally. He knew that he was one of the best workers under Aizawa, hands down. “Stay outside of the chamber. You have ten minutes,” Aizawa drawled, looking back at the computer. “Kirishima, you go with him.”

Katsuki glanced over his shoulder to find the red-head partially peeking around the doorway. At Aizawa’s words, he fully stepped into sight and smiled. “Gotcha! I won’t let him get too rowdy!”

“I’m not going to get fucking _rowdy,”_ Katsuki opposed as he brushed past Kirishima, not wasting any time. “Come on.”

As soon as Katsuki was back in the hallway, he bolted. 

“Huh? Wait!” Kirishima yelled from behind, beginning to sprint as well. “Give me a heads up next time, dude!”

Katsuki scoffed and threw over his shoulder, “We’re on a time limit!” He turned a corner, rushing past a Class C who was horribly confused. “You think I was gonna take my sweet-ass time?”

“Uh, no but-“

“Then shut up and keep up!”

Kirishima said no more after that, and Katsuki led the way through twists and turns until he reached a door blocking his path. He stopped in front of it, breathing a little heavier, and raised his badge to the scanner. There was a beep, and the door slid open. 

Katsuki stepped through and took a deep breath to get his pulse under control. “You stay out of sight,” he told Kirishima as he followed him through the threshold. “Don’t know if IcyHot would spill if he realizes I’m not alone.”

They got closer to the chamber, and Kirishima whispered, “Right. He probably doesn’t know that the cameras record sound too.”

Katsuki nodded before shooting him away as he got closer to the covered window. Kirishima stood to the right of the thermostat, out of the SCP’s view. They shared a look before Katsuki pressed a button on the control panel below the window, and the metal slab covering the glass quickly lowered. 

Raising a hand, Katsuki pounded on the glass and glared at 3212 still laying on the couch. The crown hadn’t moved from its position. “Hey, asshole!” He felt Kirishima’s chastising stare. Aizawa was probably giving the screen the same look back in his office. He didn’t care. “You want me down here, yeah? Well, I’m fucking here!”

The temperature spiked to ninety-five at his harsh knocking before lowering to seventy. IcyHot lifted his head and peered over his shoulder, blinking his eyes like he had fallen asleep _that_ quickly. He yawned and rubbed at his face, and Katsuki knocked again. “I’m going to be the one asking the questions this time! So tell me, how in the hell did you know about that crown?!”

IcyHot didn’t answer him, but the temperature marginally dropped when he sat up, reaching for the ice crown. Then, he stood and started walking over to the window. Katsuki motioned for Kirishima to slide over more so he wouldn’t be seen, and he did so without a sound. 

Katsuki’s frown deepened as IcyHot closed the distance, wondering what the hell the other was going to do. This was the first time he had seen the SCP off the couch, and - even though it was written in the document - it just now sunk in that the halfie was an inch or two taller than him and it pissed him off. IcyHot was going to use that to try to intimidate him or some shit. 

“Well?” Katsuki barked once 3212 stopped in front of the window, unwavering. “You gonna answer me or not?”

IcyHot wasn’t looking at him at first. His gaze remained on the crown, and his eyes were distant again, holding some kind of...sadness in them that Katsuki wasn’t going to fall for. This could still be some elaborate trick. 

Then those dual-colored eyes settled on him, and they focused, observing Katsuki’s face with such an intensity that made him narrow his own eyes. The temperature was creeping up one degree at a time, and the SCP opened his mouth. 

“When...When I remembered you…” he began, and Katsuki was almost surprised at the difference of his voice. It wasn’t as raspy and rough, like the cobwebs had been dusted off of it. He could barely hear the voice through the glass, but it was enough to tell the difference. “...I remembered this too.”

Katsuki scoffed mostly because of how vague that answer was and a little bit because this asshole really knew how to _talk,_ and he had them relying on the damn temperature of answers. “And?” he pushed, tapping his foot on the ground. “How in the hell do you know me?”

IcyHot absently rotated the crown in his hands. “I don’t know.”

Katsuki hadn’t known what to expect, but that wasn’t it. He clenched one of his hands into a fist. Was he making a fool out of him? “What was the point of showing me the crown, huh?” he spat, “Of getting me down here?”

The SCP slowly shook his head, watching Katsuki carefully like he was watching him. “...I don’t know,” he eventually repeated. “I had been hoping that you would remember.”

“Remember _what?_ ”

IcyHot didn’t answer. The temperature was slightly decreasing again. 

Something was off here, and Katsuki was getting extremely annoyed. “Are you fucking lying to me?” He jabbed a finger against the glass, pointing right at the other. “Do you actually remember something, or can you know everything about someone by touching them with your ice or whatever the fuck? Some extra ability shit?” Would the bastard even tell him if he did?

“I can’t do that with my ice,” was all IcyHot said. That distant and sad - almost haunting - look was in his eyes again as he averted his gaze, fingers curling around the crown. Then his voice grew quieter than before; Katsuki had to strain to hear him. “You don’t remember...anything?”

Katsuki was getting tired of this back and forth. And it was worse that it was a possibility that all of this would lead to _nothing_. “How many times do I have to fucking tell you-“

“My name is Shoto,” he said as he met Katsuki’s gaze again. “Shoto Todoroki.”

That name was lowly uttered just louder than a whisper, but it still caused Katsuki to freeze as he was thrown ten years into the past. Images popped up into his mind, images of wispy brown hair, warm grey eyes, and rare yet soft smiles. He had known a boy named Shoto Todoroki. 

And this one sure as hell wasn't him. 

“No the fuck it isn’t,” Katsuki growled. Now he knew that all of this was bullshit. The SCP was messing with his head for some ulterior motive. The shocked expression on IcyHot’s otherwise blank face almost made this worth it. Almost. “I _knew_ you were nothing but a freak. Just like the rest of them, trying anything they can to fuck with us or get out of here.” He was snarling at this point, nails digging into his palm. “Is that what you fucking want? To get out of here?”

The temperature was fluctuating up and down, the inconsistency melting the crown in 3212’s hands. IcyHot didn’t seem to care though, wide eyes trained on Katsuki. “Katsu-“

Katsuki slammed a fist against the glass, causing both IcyHot and Kirishima to flinch. “Don’t. You. Fucking. _Dare.”_ Poison laced his words. “If you say my name again, I will come in there and go through the execution protocol _myself.”_ He sneered. “Can’t use your powers with a bullet through your goddamn skull.”

He didn’t wait for a reaction. Katsuki slammed the window shut in the other’s face, spun on his heels, and left. 

He made it out of the corridor before Kirishima had the bright idea to speak, “Bakugo, what was-“

“Shut the hell up,” Katsuki snapped as he kept walking. He wasn’t in the mood for him or anyone one else right now-

His thoughts scattered when a hand planted in his shoulder, causing him to pause mid-stride. Katsuki sent Kirishima the meanest look he could muster, but the red-head wasn’t affected. His concerned frown didn’t waver. “Hey, are you okay?”

Did he _look_ like he was okay? “Fucking dandy, Shitty Hair.” Katsuki shrugged off the hand and marched off in a direction opposite of the way they came. He needed to blow off some steam. “Go back and report to Aizawa or whatever. Don't follow me.”

“Alright, man…”

Footsteps didn’t trail after him this time, and Katsuki let out a shaky breath. He didn’t feel like answering any questions about Shoto Todoroki, the boy he had given that broken crown to.

The boy who had died ten years ago.

* * *

 **_Item #:_ ** _SCP-3212_

 **_Addendum:_ ** _In addition to controlling the nearby temperature, SCP-3212 is also able to manifest ice and fire from his body with no noticeable damage to his skin. That said, the reasoning behind the burn on his face remains unknown. His body does not react to the surrounding temperatures either, no matter how extreme. There have been no signs of shivering nor perspiration when in a freezing or heated environment, respectively._

_SCP-3212 is capable of advanced communication, able to write and carry a conversation with ease. He calls himself Shoto Todoroki. The truth of that statement is under investigation. It is possible that SCP-3212 is able to acquire the memories of an individual through unknown means, but that has not been proven._

_No unauthorized personnel is allowed into SCP-3212’s chamber until further notice._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCP-017 aka the 'Shadow Person'. Whatever or whoever casts a shadow near this SCP will be enclosed in a shroud of darkness, being absorbed by it with no trace of the target afterward. Light should be surrounding it at all times.
> 
> SCP-173 aka 'The Sculpture'. Constructed from concrete and rebar, this SCP will remain immobile if it is within someone's line of sight. If that person looks away or blinks, the object will snap the victim's neck.
> 
> SCP-1424 aka 'Patches'. This SCP resembles a young Alaskan Malamute. Its body temperature ranges around -4 degrees Fahrenheit, and it constantly exudes ammonia through its tongue and paws. It has no vital signs, but it behaves and has the temperament of a playful puppy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter three! Let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes, shall we?

Memories of warm sunsets, soothing breezes, and quiet laughter melted away like they were never there at all when a knock on his door dragged Katsuki out of dreamland. 

“Fuck off,” he muttered into his pillow, burrowing further under his blanket because he wasn’t ready to face this stupid reality yet. Deku could starve for an hour longer. 

“Um, Kacchan?” the last voice he wanted to hear called through the locked door. “Sorry if you were asleep, but I ordered take-out for us and I was wondering if you wanted it now or later?”

The anger he felt toward his roommate waned at the grumbling of his stomach - now he could stop procrastinating about cooking - but he was still annoyed. Deku could’ve just put it in the fridge. “Later. Fuck _off,”_ he repeated, hoping the voice would listen.

It didn’t. “It’s the extra spicy noodles though, and you’ve always said they taste worse if refrigerated beforehand-“

Godammit. It always slipped Katsuki’s mind that Deku was a slimy fucker when he wanted to be. He obviously wanted to talk, for he could’ve ordered _anything_ else off the menu that Katsuki tolerated. But no, the nerd apparently wanted him up and this was the way he was getting Katsuki out of his damn bed. 

Katsuki almost said fuck it and torture himself later with soggy half-spiced noodles, but his stomach said otherwise. “Just put it on the damn table,” he borderline hissed as he threw the blanket off off him. The remnants of sleep were unfortunately drifting away. 

“Okay!”

Deku sounded too happy. Damn him.

Katsuki blindly reached for the t-shirt he had flung off earlier, tugged it on, and ran a hand through his wild hair while cursing all things green and irritating. He stormed out of his dark room and blinked at the light from their too bright living room. 

He pushed through the pain though, stomping over to the coffee table in the middle of the space which held his food and a soda. Deku was getting comfortable on the couch with his plate, but fuck him. Katsuki grabbed his food and drink, sent Deku a withering glare, and turned to return to his room. 

“Kacchan…” Katsuki hated that tone of voice - the ‘I’m worried and I’m not going to leave you alone until I’m not’ voice. He hated that face too. The one with the small frown and those eyes that always looked on the verge of tears. Having Deku cry around him always pissed him off. Even after all these years. 

“ _What?”_ Katsuki snapped, the savory smell of the noodles upsetting his impatient stomach. Deku opened his mouth, but he cut him off, “If you so much breathe a _word_ of that bastard, I swear-“

“Kirishima told me what happened.”

Katsuki was seriously going to kill that red-haired idiot. He was too stupid to be kept alive. “So fucking what?” 

Deku stared at him for a moment, eyes searching, before he sighed. “Can you stay out here? Please?”

Katsuki weighed the pros and cons of leaving. Pros: avoid bringing up the past and enjoying the hell out of his dinner. Cons: avoid this conversation for who knows _how_ long with the stubborn piece of broccoli he was living with. And if it went on for too long, others might get involved and fuck that. 

So he plopped down on the couch, scorched his tongue with a mouthful of noodles, and turned on the television. He hoped that his body language was screaming _no_ to having this damn conversation. 

He knew Deku could read it because they’ve known each other for so long, but unfortunately, Deku easily ignored it because they’ve known each other for so _damn long._

“3212…” Deku started before stopping, giving Katsuki a fleeting look that he didn’t appreciate. He didn’t appreciate any of this. Deku then chewed on a piece of chicken, gently muttering, “...sorta looks like him, doesn’t he?”

Katsuki almost choked on the spice because _what the shit._ “And that’s the end of this stupid conversation.” He readied himself to stand up, but Deku reached over and grabbed his arm, eyes wide in panic.

“No, wait!” he yelled, and Katsuki would’ve snatched his arm away if it had been any other person. But since it’s Deku, he turned his glare up several notches. And again, it was unfortunate that they’ve known each other for so long because Deku didn’t flinch; he simply gave a sad-puppy look and said, “I’m just...trying to understand what’s going on-“

“There’s _nothing_ to understand! How many times do I have to tell you that to get it through your thick skulls?!” This time Katsuki did tear his arm away, raising his voice, “He is a damn _SCP._ We don’t understand half of the shits we got crammed in there! He isn’t different-“

“Todoroki was my friend too, Kacchan.”

The rest of Katsuki’s words died out, but his glare didn’t let up. There was a beat of silence between them, the sounds of some baking show filling the air, before Katsuki shoveled more food into his mouth. “I never said he fucking wasn’t,” he said after swallowing. “And what does that do with anything? It doesn’t mean you can go saying bullshit.”

“I’m not, Kacchan! It’s…” Deku bit his lip before digging into one of his pockets to pull out his phone. Katsuki watched with cautious curiosity until Deku flipped the screen so he could see, and he did choke this time. Deku gasped, hitting his back as he dislodged a traitorous strand of pasta. “Sorry! I didn’t...I should’ve warned you!”

“What the hell - _where_ the hell…” Katsuki had to pause to get his mouth under control. “Why the fuck do you still have that picture?!”

Deku meekly shrugged. “Memories, I guess. You...didn’t save any?”

Katsuki didn’t answer, snatching the phone away from him and frowning at what was there. It was the three of them: him, Deku, and Sho - Todoroki. Deku was the closest to the camera, because of _course_ he was, brightly smiling, dimples showing in chubby cheeks that had remained even as the rest of the nerd’s body had filled out. His hair was still black back then, haven’t had the urge to dye it green yet. 

He was sitting on a worn pier, and Katsuki was right next to him, scowling at the phone. His heated glare had been practiced and perfected even back then. Idiocy started young, and he’d been surrounded by idiots his whole life. Even now at a facility where being stupid could get you killed, Katsuki was still cursed to suffer.

Speaking of idiots…

On the other side of Katsuki was Shoto Todoroki. He wasn’t even looking at the camera, the bastard. His eyes were on the ice cream Katsuki had in his hand at the time. He was leaning down and about to lick the vanilla treat when Deku took the picture, disregarding his own strawberry cone. Katsuki remembered yelling at the other afterwards, and Todoroki hadn’t cared at all as Deku giggled in the background. 

He had met Todoroki at a summer camp that year, when their bodies were going through awkward transitions and when he believed it was him against the whole damn world. They had known each other for no longer than two mosquito-filled and sweltering months, but, those two months…

“I look at it from time to time, to remember,” Deku murmured, scattering his thoughts. “To think about what could’ve been, you know?”

He tried to catch Katsuki’s gaze after that statement, and Katsuki refused to look him in the eye. There was no reason to because he knew what Deku was alluding to, something that was stupid and buried in the past. 

“It wouldn't have been _anything_ ,” he argued, fighters tightening around the phone. “He lived across the damn country.”

“But-“ He gave Deku a sharp look, and he backed off. Good. But then the nerd went on to say, “Look at him, Kacchan.” He slid closer so he could look at the picture too. “Just...imagine if he grew up. What he would look like if he was our age…”

“He would look the same, dammit.” He didn’t know why he was entertaining this conversation. It wasn’t going to lead anywhere. “Same haircut and everything because the fucker hated change.” Todoroki had barely spoken to anyone the first week, even to Katsuki, his damn cabin mate. Not that Katsuki cared. It had just been freaking weird. 

Deku quietly chuckled. “Yeah, definitely. So...hear me out.” He took the phone back and zoomed in on Todoroki. “I’m not saying that I completely believe 3212 because it...would be impossible for him to actually be Todoroki, but, you do see the resemblance, don’t you?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, eager to end this so he could properly enjoy his dinner without the risk of choking to death. “ _No,_ I don’t see the fucking resemblance because the last time I checked, Todoroki had _brown_ hair and _two_ grey eyes. That half-and-half bastard doesn’t qualify.”

“But look beyond that, Kacchan,” Deku pressed. “Pretend that 3212 has Todoroki’s features, or better yet-“ He tapped the phone. “-pretend that Todoroki has 3212’s, burn and all.” Deku begged with his eyes. “Please, so I don’t feel like I’m going crazy here.”

Katsuki believed that every single person he knew had already gone off the deep end. “Will you shut up about this if I do?” 

Deku nodded. “Yeah, for now at least.”

Translation: no.

Grumbling, Katsuki snatched the phone again anyway, narrowing his eyes at the boy last seen many, many years ago. He had to be rolling in his damn grave knowing that he was being compared to a shitty SCP. Begrudgingly following Deku’s instructions, Katsuki imagined Todoroki with hideous hair, hollow bi-colored eyes, and a nasty burn. He frowned. Because yeah, if Todoroki were older, then maybe there could be a resemblance, but hell-

He tossed the phone into Deku’s lap. “So what if he _kinda_ looks like IcyHot? Dye Sparky’s hair red and give him a gallon of gel, you wouldn’t be able to tell him and Shitty Hair apart.” From the face, anyway. Kaminari was a beanpole compared to Kirishima. 

Frustration flashed across Deku’s face, and Katsuki almost laughed. What did he expect? For him to just go along with whatever dumb conclusions he’s come up with? “While that’s true, it’s a little uncanny in this case, isn’t it?”

“No,” Katsuki easily answered, taking a sip of soda to soothe his burning yet satisfied tongue. 

“Wha-?” Deku looked at him like _he_ was the crazy one here. Then he glanced down at the phone again, eyebrows pulling together. “How about...when you talked to him?” he asked. “Did he sound familiar to you?"

Katsuki stabbed his noodles. “What happened to shutting up?”

“I know! Just - this is the last question.”

Katsuki knew that was a lie too, but for some stupid reason, he remained on the couch. “Fuck if I know. I was too busy being pissed off at him to notice, and plus, puberty, remember? You two sounded like dog toys back then.”

“No, I didn’t!” Deku pouted, and when Katsuki gave him a _look_ , he conceded, “Well, don’t act like you didn’t sound the same! The one with the deepest voice was Todoroki, or did you forget?”

“I didn’t forget shit,” Katsuki muttered, clearly remembering the opposite. Deku’s brain was the one that was messed up. 

Deku had shit-eating grin on his face. “Uh huh.”

“Don’t you _uh huh_ me, fucker-“

“So that’s a ‘I don’t know’ in the voice department,” his roommate mumbled to himself, and Katsuki just thought of something to end all of this.

“All this is insane bullshit, and you wanna know why?” Deku blinked at him with wide eyes, and he pointed his chopsticks right in Deku’s face. “Even though you think there’s a _tiny_ little chance of a connection despite Todoroki dying in a goddamn _house fire_ -“ He suppressed the memory of his thirteen-year old self finding out about it. “-think about this, nerd. _Both_ of us knew him, so, if going by your stupid claims, IcyHot should recognize you too. But he _doesn’t._ Explain that. Oh right, you can’t.”

With that, Katsuki went back to his meal and enjoyed the silence from Deku afterwards. 

For about thirty seconds. 

“Well…” Multiple curses flew out of Katsuki’s mouth, but Deku ignored them. He instead tapped his chin. “My appearance is pretty different from back then, and I don’t think anyone has said my name around him. He only fully recognized you when Iida yelled it out. Maybe if Aizawa lets us, we could test that out tomorrow-“

Katsuki broke his chopsticks in half, _tired_ of it. “Why in the hell do you want him to be Todoroki so badly, hah?” he snarled. “Why are you chasing this dumbass fantasy?!”

Deku held his hands up innocently. “I’m not chasing anything! I just want to solve this mystery, that’s all! There’s got to be a reason why 3212 is calling himself Todoroki, right?”

“Yeah,” Katsuki said before reinforcing for the _hundredth_ time. “It’s called insanity.” He then swiped Deku’s unmanned chopsticks and began eating with those. 

“Hey!”

“There’s more in the kitchen.”

“That’s-“

“It’s payment for annoying me.”

“-fair.”

* * *

The next morning, Deku asked Aizawa about his _fantastic_ plan, Aizawa instantly shut it down saying that no one but him was getting anywhere close to that room today, and Katsuki fought hard to keep from grinning. Actually, he didn’t fight at all. 

Deku gave him a look that resembled a pouting puppy before they split off into their own offices. 

He heard Deku greet Uraraka and Iida as he sat at his desk, alone for the moment because Kirishima was almost never on time. However, he did live and carpool with Kaminari and Ashido, so it wasn’t really a surprise. Though he probably was the reason the trio was usually late. Most likely took an hour just to do his damn hair. 

So now he had to wait to share the news of them having cleaning duty, which consisted of supervising the Class C extras as they took care of the easier SCPs while he and Kirishima had to deal with the harder ones. It was a pain in the ass. Once a week was too damn often.

Well, at least he didn’t have to start until Shitty Hair made his appearance. Hoping that all three of them overslept, somehow got gum in their hair, or some shit like that, Katsuki logged into his computer and went to the cameras. He was simply browsing, killing time, and the mouse accidentally hovered over IcyHot’s footage.

Katsuki hesitated before making it full screen, not letting a damn SCP influence his actions. It didn’t matter if Deku’s words were echoing in his head or not. Katsuki instantly found IcyHot, who was still sleeping on the couch in the middle of the chamber. He was on his back, one arm flung over his eyes while the other cradled the ice crown against his bare stomach. Katsuki frowned, wishing that he could crank up the heaters from up here to melt it away. He didn’t deserve to hold it, or any replica, dammit.

“Mornin’, Bakubro!” Katsuki sucked in a breath before scrambling to switch the cameras, but the damage had already been done. “Oh - you’re watching IcyHot?”

“ _No,_ jackass - I clicked on it for a second-“

“Uh huh.”

Katsuki was going to rip out the tongue of the next person who said that to him. 

“Nice to know that you’re curious like we are!” A chair was wheeled beside him, and Kirishima plopped down without Katsuki’s permission. “Midoriya talk with you about him or something?”

Katsuki gritted his teeth. “None of your fucking business.”

Kirishima didn’t respond, but his smile was enough to rub Katsuki the wrong way. He missed when he actually _intimidated_ the people around him. Kirishima then leaned forward, looking at the screen. “About IcyHot though, we passed by Aizawa on our way in and he said that he was gonna give him breakfast. Hopefully he doesn’t burn it this time.”

Katsuki scoffed, taking his hand off the mouse because now he had an actual reason to watch. “He won’t because he has to be hungry as hell right now.” IcyHot hadn’t gotten anything else after that sandwich. Bet he regretted causing that stupid fire. “What’s Aizawa giving him?”

“Toast with jelly for now.”

Katsuki should’ve expected that. Aizawa seemed like the type to barely make his own breakfast, nevermind some random SCP’s. Kirishima wisely didn’t ask about the conversation he and Deku had, instead talking about how Racoon Eyes had almost burned down their apartment last night making _brownies._ Katsuki refused to be surprised anymore. 

About five minutes later, knocking echoed around IcyHot’s chamber, coming through on the camera feed. Kirishima quieted, and they watched as 3212 slowly roused from sleep. He shifted on the couch and lowered the arm over his face, blinking his eyes open. Katsuki examined the SCP’s features one more time. The blue eye surrounded by scar tissue and the two-toned hair definitely stood out, but if he - for some reason, stupid Deku - replaced all of that with brunette hair and an ashy gaze, then, maybe in the right light 3212 could look like him. But that didn’t mean shit. Absolutely nothing. 

_“I brought breakfast”,_ Aizawa said off-camera, and IcyHot lethargically turned his head toward the window with a crease between his brows. However, after seeing the glass and giving the chamber another swift look, his expression smoothed out, as blank and as hard to read as yesterday. IcyHot sat up, placing the crown beside him, as Aizawa continued, _“I’m coming in there to give it to you. If you cause another fire, you’re not eating again until tomorrow.”_

IcyHot placed a hand on his stomach and nodded, the temperature of the room rising from below freezing to a toastier seventy-five. Katsuki guessed he didn’t have to worry about melting the crown because he could easily make another one, damn bastard.

 _“I mean it,”_ Aizawa emphasized before stepping away from the window. It wasn’t actually seen on camera, but the way IcyHot turned to face the entrance of his room was a telling hint. 

“Do you think he’s going to talk again?” Kirishima asked.

Katsuki shrugged. “Hell if I know.” There was no way to predict the asshole at this point.

It wasn’t long before the door to the chamber slid open, and Aizawa walked in while dressed in the appropriate temperature-controlled suit. In one gloved hand was a napkin holding two slices of toast slathered with jelly, and in the other was a paper cup of water. The temperature in the room remained steady. 

Aizawa eyed 3212 before walking over to him, holding the sorry breakfast out when he got close enough. _“Here.”_

IcyHot took the items without any fuss, placing the toast in his lap after examining it. He then took a sip from the cup and said, _“I’m sorry about yesterday.”_

Kirishima gasped in excitement while Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the screen. _Did_ IcyHot sound familiar? He honestly couldn’t tell. It wasn’t Todoroki’s voice, obviously because Deku was wrong, but had he heard it before…?

If Aizawa was surprised at his words, it didn’t show in his response, _“Why did it happen?”_ he asked, tone level and controlled. 

IcyHot lowered his gaze to the toast, hair framing his face and partially blocking it from the camera’s view. _“I had been...surprised, that’s all.”_

_“Because of Bakugo?”_

Katsuki glanced at the temperature. It jumped up fifteen degrees and lingered around there before lowering back to room temp. No fire this time. 

IcyHot traced the rim of the cup with a finger, silence reigning until he muttered monotonously, “ _I usually have more control over my powers.”_ After avoiding the question, he waved a free hand over the couch and created a slab of ice to hold his cup. “ _That won’t happen again.”_

Katsuki scoffed. “ _Sure,_ it won’t. Fucker’s just trying to get our guard down.” Kirishima frowned a little at him but didn’t say anything. Probably because he couldn’t argue what he just said. 

Aizawa must’ve been reading Katsuki’s mind because he said, _“Those words don’t mean anything. You do know what you are and what this place is, right?”_

The numbers dropped five degrees as IcyHot nodded. _“I do.”_ He picked up one of the slices of toast and began to peel off the crust like a damn child.

Katsuki’s mind then _helpfully_ provided the memory of him teasing Todoroki about doing the same thing. 

He shook his head to get rid of that unnecessary reminder, jaw clenching as Aizawa turned his back on the SCP. _“Don’t make a mess,”_ he ordered as he walked away. _“I’ll be back to ask questions later.”_

IcyHot took a bite out of his toast as the door slid shut. 

“Huh,” Kirishima said once it was clear that nothing else was going to happen. “He’s pretty friendly compared to yesterday! Wonder why?”

“You call that friendly?” Katsuki clicked out of the cameras and stood from his chair. “He just learned that keeping secrets isn’t gonna do shit here. Don’t even know why he thought pretending to be dumb would do him any favors.” Also, avoiding the obvious _yes_ when Aizawa asked about Katsuki wasn’t helping his case either. “Get up, Shitty Hair. We’ve got cleaning duty.”

Kirishima groaned as he did so. “I know, I know...Was kinda hoping that they would talk a little longer.” 

“Aizawa? Hold an actual conversation? Funny.”

"A guy can hope."

* * *

"...um.”

“Well, I mean-“

“If you tilt your head a bit…”

“Under the right light, maybe?”

“I can see it! Uh, kinda?”

It was the end of the day, and Katsuki was sharing his office with way too many people trying to look at a picture all at once. 

All of his team were packed inside courtesy of Deku, who decided to wait until now to spill about the connection - or the complete lack of one - between IcyHot and Todoroki. Now it was hot and stuffy and he couldn’t leave because Deku was the one who drove today. Currently, Deku was standing to the side while his phone was being held hostage. 

Granted, Deku had asked Katsuki for permission to do so beforehand, and Katsuki had said that he didn't care. Maybe he would have if he knew that he was going to be trapped in an oven. 

Ashido plucked the phone out of Kaminari’s hands, holding it close to her squinting face. “I wish you had a better picture, but I can see the similarities. Especially if I picture 3212 younger, before the chiseled jawline and such.”

Kaminari stole the phone back. “Really? I don’t see it at all!” He tilted the screen along with his head. “Maybe we should borrow makeup from you and buy some dye to give 3212 a makeover. _Then_ we’ll have an answer!”

Uraraka rolled her eyes with a smile. “Aizawa would probably have a stroke if he saw you doing that.”

“Nah, he’d just watch and call us annoyances.”

Katsuki crossed his arms, leaning against his desk. “Before firing your asses.”

Kaminari shrugged. “Depending on the day. We just gotta make sure we don’t do it on a Monday...or a Tuesday."

Kirishima chuckled. “Even if Aizawa lets us, I don’t think 3212 would be down with us doing it. And I don’t want to be burned alive, y’know?”

Kaminari blinked like he hadn’t thought about that. “Yeah...we might need to hold off on the makeover.”

Iida cradled his chin. “Nevermind about the appearance, can we be absolutely sure that he is talking about the same Shoto Todoroki? It’s an uncommon name, but-“

Deku shook his head, sitting on Kirishima’s desk and swinging his legs back and forth. “I’ve already looked into that. There’s only one Shoto Todoroki, that...has lived in Japan in the past fifty years.”

No one had missed his small pause. Deku always has worn his emotions on his damn sleeve.

Katsuki cut in before things got too dramatic. This wasn’t the time for _feelings. “_ If you’re feeling fucking sad, don’t. It happened ten years ago, so we’re over it. Yeah, learning that he had died sucked, but that’s all in the fucking past.”

“Apparently it isn’t.” Ashido sighed, putting a hand on her hip and gesturing at the computer with the other. “Because now we got a SCP calling himself Todoroki after all these years. Like seriously, what’s up with that?”

“That’s the question of the day, isn’t it?” At the new voice, they all turned to see Aizawa standing in the doorway. His eyes scanned the group before landing on Katsuki. “Bakugo, come with me.”

He pushed off his desk. “Is it an emergency?”

“No,” Aizawa said before walking off. Katsuki followed him, and as soon as he left he heard voices telling Kirishima to log back into his computer. He swore that he worked with preschoolers sometimes. Once they were far enough down the hall, Aizawa continued, “3212 didn’t answer any questions I asked him today, but when I asked if he wanted to speak to you, he said yes.”

Katsuki honestly couldn’t be surprised, but still, “What the fuck.” The halfie was already becoming one of the most irritating SCPs here. He wanted to go _home_ because cleaning had wore him the hell out.

“More like why.” Aizawa sighed as they turned a corner. “I know that I forbade anyone but me from going to the room today, but technically, the work day is over with.” Katsuki gave him a ‘are you _kidding_ me?’ look that was ignored. “I’m not having you stay for long. Just see what he’s willing to share.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“I know, but try.”

And that was the end of the conversation, unfortunately. Katsuki gritted his teeth and obediently followed his boss until they reached the bastard’s chamber, going to stand in front of the window while Aizawa leaned against the wall, out of sight. He had given Katsuki a notepad with questions on it. Katsuki skimmed over the paper before steeling himself and sliding open the window. 

IcyHot was sitting on the couch, catching a ball made of ice when the noise had caught his attention. He looked over to the window, and Katsuki scowled when those eyes widened a bit. “We’re going to make this _quick,_ IcyHot, because I’m off the clock and you’re pissing me off even more.” He stepped closer to the glass, breath fogging some of it up. “Why the _fuck_ didn’t you answer any of my boss’ questions?”

The SCP tilted his head, a small frown forming. “IcyHot?”

Katsuki already wanted to slam his head against the glass. “Just answer the fucking question!” He felt Aizawa’s disappointed gaze, but it was very easy to ignore. 

3212 stared at him for another moment before standing, leaving the ball on the couch. “I hadn’t meant for you to come right now,” he muttered as a half-assed apology, walking over. “If it’s a bad time, then this could wait until tomorrow or-“

“Shut up!” Katsuki interrupted him, not in the mood for any of it. “I’m here now, so get on with it! Why the hell are you staying quiet when it’s clear that you can fucking talk?”

The frown grew, and the temperature dropped ten degrees before climbing back up. “I can’t answer them,” he stated as he reached the glass. 

Katsuki glared at the jaded eyes that stared right back at him. For some reason, he was the only person IcyHot seemed to actually _look_ at. “Can’t or _won’t?”_

“Both,” IcyHot said because of _course_ he would. Something in his eyes shifted, and his frown relaxed as he searched Katsuki’s face. “I want to remember first before I answer anything.”

“Remember _what?”_ Katsuki hissed, counting the seconds he was wasting here.

“You.” IcyHot admitted that easily, to Katsuki’s surprise, and placed a hand on the window between them. “Everything about you. Why you’re the only thing I remember from before, along with that crown and…” He backed up from the glass. Katsuki had no idea what was happening and _didn’t_ want to know when 3212 started folding up one leg of his ragged shorts. 

“What the _hell-“_

“You...caused this, didn’t you?”

Katsuki’s tongue then refused to work, for IcyHot was showing the skin of his upper thigh, angling it so he could see. He wasn’t speechless because of how high up the shorts went, almost revealing enough to be labeled indecent, but because of the long scar on the side, its pink hue contrasting the pale white around it. 

Again, Katsuki’s mind thought it was a good idea to recall when he and Todoroki had cannonballed into the camp’s lake. The water had been too shallow where they had done it; Katsuki received a nasty bruise while a rock had slashed Todoroki in the _same place_. The cut hadn’t been that deep, but blood had gushed out of it, running down Todoroki’s leg as Katsuki half-carried him to the nurse’s station. 

The memory dissipated when IcyHot covered the scar up again, gaze never leaving Katsuki’s face. “I don’t remember exactly what happened, but you do.” IcyHot took a step forward. “Right, Katsuki?”

_“That hurts.”_

_“Shut up. I gotta help you change these out because apparently you can’t do it yourself.”_

_“I could.”_

_“Yeah, but you’re terrible at it and I’d have to do it anyway, or take you back to the damn nurse. This saves time.”_

_“Thank you.”_

_“...Whatever. Just watch where you freaking jump next time.”_

_“But jumping was your idea in the first place. To splash water on Monoma, right Katsuki?”_

_“Idiot ate my brownie.”_

_“And now I have a cut in my leg.”_

_“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”_

Those old words bounced around in his head, and Katsuki took a step back, ice filling his veins. “No.” He refused to believe it. It was impossible. This had to be another coincidence, it _had_ to. Because there was no way. Todoroki was nothing like this _SCP,_ and- “Todoroki is dead. _Dead._ So stop trying to fucking _be him.”_ He began to shake with rage and something else he refused to name. “You will never be, no matter what you say, _freak_. Cut the fucking bullshit!”

Because that’s what all this was. All that it could possibly be.

IcyHot shook his head, giving him a cloudy look mixed with melancholy and hurt. He shouldn’t be affected by the gaze, he shouldn’t- “I didn’t die,” IcyHot said, placing his fingers back on the glass. Tiny crystals grew from them. “I’m right here.”

A tornado was tearing apart Katsuki’s thoughts, ripping them to shreds and scattering them everywhere, so the only thing he could do was stiffly turn to Aizawa and ask, “Permission to leave.”

IcyHot seemed confused for a moment, but then he caught on. His frown was back, and the temperature plummeted as he shifted away from the window. Katsuki didn’t care if he hurt his feelings. He had to go.

Aizawa had been watching Katsuki this whole time, eyes sharp as things unfolded. Honestly, Katsuki didn’t know if he would let him go because not a single question on that paper was answered. However, Aizawa must’ve realized that they _wouldn’t_ be answered no matter what, for he eventually nodded. “Permission granted.”

Katsuki handed the notepad over and didn’t hesitate to turn around, ignoring the heavy gaze on his back as he left.

He kept his mind carefully blank as he went back to grab the rest of his shit out of the office. Loud voices filtered out of it as he approached, but everything went silent when he stepped through the doorway. Everyone was crammed behind Kirishima’s desk, eyes wide with differing amounts of surprise. 

Katsuki paid them no attention and grabbed his wallet as a voice called behind him, “Kacchan…” He peered over his shoulder to see Deku approaching him, many emotions swirling in those big eyes of his. Deku opened and closed his mouth a few times before muttering, “It’s...him, isn’t it?”

 _No._ That was what his mind wanted to scream, but, instead he said-

“Let’s go. We have to do some fucking research.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 4! Can anyone stop Katsuki from being so stubborn? Honestly, who knows at this point...

When Katsuki had suggested research, the idea was for Deku to help out with it, not his whole damn team. 

But here they were, strung about Katsuki’s apartment. The only reason he hadn’t kicked them out yet was because they all were eating out of pizza boxes that Katsuki didn’t have to pay for. So, he let them off the hook, this time. 

Katsuki took a bite out of his slice, enjoying the cheese and pepperoni as he studied his laptop and ignored whatever Ashido was talking about beside him. He was sure that she wasn’t talking to him anyway - around ninety-five percent - because Kaminari was talking as well from the floor in front of him. Katsuki didn’t even pause to listen because most of the time it was inane bullishit that dropped his IQ, so he didn’t bother. 

On his other side was Kirishima, who was too busy stuffing his face to pay attention to what Sparky and Raccoon were saying, instead occasionally looking at what Katsuki had on the screen. Which was a big heaping pile of fuck-all.

He had been through multiple classified - he was an employee so he wouldn’t get hunted down - sites that explained the existence of SCP, what they were and how they’ve been around for a long ass time; it was only recently that the facilities were built. Nothing about whether or not regular humans could turn into one of those fuckers and still be intelligent enough to tell the tale. There had been a number of incidents where an SCP would merge with a person or grow on them, but nothing like a full damn transformation. 

Now, he was looking at articles from ten years ago about the Todoroki house fire. He skimmed through multiple stories saying the same thing; that there were no survivors of the inferno that took place in the countryside. The large home had been reduced to a skeleton when the fire crew got there. All six members of the family were found inside. Enji, Rei, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo...and Shoto. All dead. 

There was nothing particularly special about what happened, nothing stood out to him. The fire had started around two in the morning, the report saying that faulty wiring from a lamp was to blame. Everyone had been sleeping upstairs and possibly couldn’t react in time to save themselves. Katsuki found that strange because houses had fire alarms for a reason, but then again, the alarm in his apartment now had no batteries because it was sensitive as hell. One tiny whiff of smoke and that thing lost its shit. So maybe, that had happened back then too. 

“Hey, Kacchan?”

“What?” Katsuki answered without looking up from the screen. 

“Do you remember Todoroki talking about his siblings at all?”

This time Katsuki did glance up, sending Deku an irked look. His roommate was sitting in a chair brought in from the kitchen, chewing on a pen and staring at the laptop in Uraraka’s lap. “Hah? How the hell should I know? This shit was a _decade_ ago,” Katsuki said even though he tried to think back, unable to recall if Todoroki ever did. “Why ask that stupid question?”

Deku took the disgustingly chewed cap out of his mouth, meeting his gaze. “I just wanted to know if Todoroki ever mentioned them to you, because I really don’t think I knew until we first found out about the fire.” He tapped his chin with the pen. “I could be wrong, though…”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Don’t make me throw this at you, Kacchan.”

“I swear to _fuck_ if you do, I will shove that thing so far down your damn _throat_.”

Kaminari ended his own conversation just to snort. “Kinky.”

Katsuki hurled his piece of pizza at Kaminari’s head with a growl, and the blonde unfortunately caught it before it splattered across his face. “Thanks for the slice!” He grinned as he bit into Katsuki’s food. Cheeky fucker. 

Ashido giggled before leaning closer to him, peering at his screen. “Soooo, has anyone found any clues yet?”

“Does it _look_ like I have?” Katsuki snapped as Kirishima handed him another slice from the box balancing dangerously on the arm of the couch. 

Uraraka shook her head. “Not yet! Anything I look up is regular stuff. Nothing about what happened with the Todorokis points to 3212, other than his looks.”

“Which is a shaky connection at best.” Iida was on the other side of her, squinting down at his phone. “I’m unable to find anything online either.” He frowned at the screen. “Well, not anything concrete…”

Deku leaned forward in his chair to ask, “What do you mean, Iida?”

“I’m looking at the reports of the family.” Iida’s glasses glinted in the light as he explained. Katsuki clicked through tabs in his computer, trying to find what had caught Glasses’ attention. “Don’t you think it’s strange that there are no photos of them? The patents nor the children?”

“Huh? Really?” Sparky said around the pizza in his mouth. 

Katsuki glared at him. “You’d notice if you had fucking _searched_ anything.”

“I’m here for moral support!”

He ignored the blonde idiot in favor of protecting his IQ, responding to Iida, “Yeah I noticed, but it ain’t fucking weird. Another random family member could’ve requested not to release any pictures or some shit.”

“That could be the case, but…” Iida gestured at the laptop Uraraka held, silently asking for it, and she handed it over. Iida began to type. “It could just be my experience from shadowing my brother, however, something seems odd here. Especially since when you search any of the childrens’ names, there’s no pictures of them at all on the internet.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Kirishima asked as Kaminari scrambled to his feet, approaching Iida and looking over his shoulder at the screen. 

Iida nodded. “Yes. It doesn’t apply to the parents, though. Their pictures are readily available when searched.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes before testing it out, fingers moving across the keyboard as he searched Enji’s and Rei’s names. True to Iida’s word, their faces popped up immediately. Katsuki looked them over, refreshing their memory in his mind. The last time he had seen them was when they were all getting dropped off at that camp. 

Opposites attract severely came into play in their relationship, Katsuki believed. In every picture with a dark-haired, serious faced Enji, there was a silvery blonde, softly smiling Rei beside him. 

Ashido gasped. “How in the _world_ did he land someone like her? She’s gorgeous!”

Kirishima hummed in thought. “Maybe he had a colorful personality?”

“Does _anything_ about him look colorful?”

“Uh…” Kirishima glanced at Katsuki, raising a brow. “Do you know what he was like, Bakubro?”

Katsuki almost didn’t answer him because of the nickname, but he muttered, “Hell if I know. Saw him for like a second way back then, and I don’t remember Todoroki talking about his parents either.” Either he and Deku never asked, or Todoroki never answered; Katsuki forgot how that information was never brought up. 

“Remember to not judge a book by its cover!” Uraraka reminded. “Unless it’s Bakugo,” she added for _no_ damn reason, causing Sparky and Raccoon to chuckle. 

“You’re right, Iida…” Deku said, effectively ignoring the killing intent in the room due to experience. He watched with creased brows as Glasses kept searching. “None of the kids show up…”

Katsuki searched for them too, and the only results were pages linking them to the accident or to their entrepreneurial parents. No pictures showed up, even when he saved Shoto Todoroki for last. Yeah, now this wasn’t normal.

“That’s seriously freaky,” Kirishima said with a frown. “But what if it was because they were minors or something?”

Deku shook his head, chewing his damn pen again. “Not all of them were. Fuyumi and Touya were over eighteen, so it’s extra strange that there’s nothing with them either.”

There was a bout of silence in the room, Katsuki trying to figure out what the hell this meant, until Iida spoke up, “It might not mean anything. It caught my eye, but reading my brother’s cases in my free time might’ve made me more suspicious than normal. Plus, this potential mystery doesn’t have anything to do about 3212.”

“It’s okay, Iida!” Ashido reassured. “I’m glad you pointed it out because I think there’s something off about it too, and about 3212, well- ” She pursed her lips, her next words said gently, “The Todorokis did die of a fire…”

Katsuki felt a flash of anger inside, all directed at that IcyHot bastard, before common sense took over. He gave her a dry look. “So you’re telling me that the lamp thing was a cover-up and IcyHot did it? That’s stupid as hell.” There were hundreds of house fires every year. The chances of that shit happening was in the negatives. 

Ashido puffed out her cheeks. “Then how else does 3212 know Shoto Todoroki? Since he can’t be him and I _seriously_ doubt he can tap into people’s memories.”

Katsuki glared at her. He hadn’t ruled the latter option out yet. IcyHot’s barely been at the facility for two days. “That’s what we’re _trying_ to figure out, dammit!”

“We can’t rule out 3212 being Todoroki,” Deku cut in, though he looked unsure as he said it. “Just because we haven’t found anything to completely prove it doesn’t mean it’s not true…” He glanced at Katsuki, and there went those damn emotions again. “That scar today, it was in the same place as Todoroki’s was, right?”

Katsuki scoffed. “And? Anyone can have a scar fucking anywhere.”

“But he said that you caused it.”

Katsuki gritted his teeth, jabbing a thumb at Ashido. “ _That’s_ why the memory shit can’t be ruled out either.”

Kaminari sighed and slumped to the floor. “So, you’re saying that we’re still at square one? _Great.”_

“Not necessarily, I mean…” Uraraka thought for a moment before saying, “I say it’s too early to start drawing conclusions now. So how about we take a break from this, and tomorrow, we can try asking 3212 if he knows any of his family? Since he claims to be Shoto Todoroki?”

Kirishima nodded. “Yeah, I’m down with that! Guessing without any clues won’t get us anywhere.” He pointed over to Deku. “Why don’t you do it, Midoriya? Then at the same time, you can see if IcyHot recognizes you.”

“Yeah...good idea,” Deku muttered before chuckling. “If Aizawa will let me, that is.”

“Just give him the ol’ puppy-eyes! Works every time!”

“It doesn’t, but I’ll try.”

Kaminari flopped down on his stomach, propping his head up with a palm. “Sooo, are we done being detectives today? If so, it’s time to break out the Uno cards because - huh?” He cut himself off before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He then smiled widely at it, and everyone knew that that was a bad sign. “Looks like Shinso’s coming over tonight.”

Ashido groaned. “Seriously? Hey, Uraraka-“

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you can sleep over. Yaomomo and Jiro know the routine by now.”

“Thank god.”

Kirishima glanced between Deku and Katsuki, lingering on the latter. “Can I spend the night here?”

Deku brightened. “Yeah, sure!”

“Whatever,” Katsuki uttered, knowing that he was going to ask as soon as Shinso’s name left Sparky’s mouth. 

Kaminari pouted. “C’mon, guys! You don’t have to ditch me! If I promise to keep it down-“

“You say that every time.” Ashido gave him a level look. “And the next day, there are noise complaints from our neighbors. If they can’t sleep through it, I can’t sleep through it.”

“I’m not _that_ loud-“

Kirishima sent him a _look._ “Dude.”

“-most of the time!”

Katsuki was done hearing about Sparky’s annoying sex life. He slammed his laptop shut, finished the rest of his pizza, and stood. “I’m getting the damn cards. Don’t anyone cry when they end up with half a deck in their hands.”

Everyone looked at Deku.

Deku copied Kaminari’s pout. “That was one time!”

“Twice.” Uraraka mended.

“I-I had something in my eye-“

* * *

“Can I go visit him, please?”

“Fine, but only if Bakugo goes with you.”

Well, that was easier than Katsuki expected. And Deku had to be thinking the same, the surprised expression he wore plain for all to see. 

Aizawa sighed, checking his computer and drawling out, “3212 is the most talkative with him around, so go at it. Any information is good information. Just don’t set him off. He seemed angry after you left yesterday, Bakugo.”

Katsuki simply grunted. 

Aizawa glanced at him before shooing them away. “Good luck, and Kirishima?” The red-head peeked his head in, having been standing out of view the whole time. Aizawa must’ve had a sixth sense when it came to him; that, or because Shitty Hair was always attached to his damn hip. “Go patrolling with Iida. Kaminari called in sick today.”

Katsuki held in a scoff. _Sick,_ yeah fucking right. The only thing keeping him in the apartment was that insomniac.

“Will do!” Kirishima gave Katsuki and Deku two thumbs up before leaving. Katsuki rolled his eyes as he walked out of the office, Deku thanking Aizawa before doing the same.

Deku then proceeded to mutter conversation topics to himself all the way to the chamber, and fucking hell, if he hadn’t known Deku since they were practically fetuses, he’d choke the idiot out. Voices echoed too damn much in this place. It felt like his ears were being assaulted.

Once they approached the chamber, Katsuki was given the gift of silence as Deku seemed to prepare himself for whatever the hell was about to happen. Katsuki just went over and hovered a finger over the window button, waiting for the subtle nod before pressing it. The wall slid open, and they were greeted with the sight of a sleeping IcyHot. 

Unlike yesterday, he was laying on his stomach, head resting on one arm with the other dangled off the edge of the cushion, fingers brushing the floor. His expression was relaxed as he slept. It would be easy to forget that he was an annoying SCP. Katsuki searched for the crown and found it by his feet, staying intact in the below freezing air. 

“Um…” Deku whispered beside him, sounding reluctant as he eyed IcyHot. “Maybe we should come back later when he’s awake? If he was already in a bad mood going to sleep, we shouldn’t make it worse by-“

Katsuki didn’t have time for this. “Deku, either you fucking knock, or I’m going to.”

Deku imitated Aizawa for a moment, releasing a sigh, before raising a hand and quietly tapping on the glass. Understandingly, IcyHot didn’t move. Katsuki threw Deku a heated look to get _on with it,_ and Deku knocked a little harder. “Hey, um...Todoroki?” Katsuki stiffened a bit because _what?_ No one agreed on calling the bastard that. Deku sent him an apologetic look as IcyHot began to stir, eyes blinking open. “Sorry to wake you so early, but I would like to introduce myself! If that’s okay?”

3212 frowned as he peered with half-lidded eyes at the window. He didn’t move from his position, though he quickly shifted his gaze off Deku to settle on Katsuki. The frown deepened.

Katsuki refused to look away. “Got something you want to say, jackass?”

“Kacchan!” Deku wasn’t illegally allowed to hiss, but If he was, it would’ve sounded like that. “Can I just talk to him, please?”

Katsuki crossed arms with a grunt, but he didn’t avert his eyes from those waking ones. It didn’t matter however, because as soon as Deku said that nickname, IcyHot snapped his stare back at his roommate. The temperature spiked a bit. 

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. 

Deku tried again, smiling at the halfie. “So, what do you say? Want to talk with us for a minute? Promise it won’t be long!”

IcyHot didn’t answer for the longest, staring at Deku like he was some kind of enigma. Then, finally, he looked back at Katsuki and asked, “Is there anyone else out there with you this time?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “No, everyone has better things to do than to spy on you.” Though that was a lie. He was sure one person was listening right now, if not more. 

The glance he received from Deku was slightly exasperated. However, it disappeared when he said to the SCP, “I can take a picture as proof!” He pulled out his phone and took a panoramic picture of their surroundings. When he was done, he placed the screen against the glass and reassured, “It’s just us!” His smile was a little off, and Katsuki bet it was because he felt bad about lying. Well, if the bastard never found out about the cameras, it didn’t matter. 

IcyHot apparently didn’t notice, for he sat up on the couch after a moment of deliberation. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before walking over. There was no hesitance in his movements, but he was watching Deku the whole way until he got to the window. His attention dropped to the phone, studying it. Katsuki guessed it was safe to say that the halfie knew about technology. Made things easier.

After a moment, IcyHot met Deku’s gaze again and said, “You called him Kacchan.” His expression, as always, was hard to read. 

Deku rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “Oh, yeah! I’ve been calling Kacchan that since when we were kids, so it just kinda stuck.”

IcyHot didn’t respond to him, instead peering at Katsuki and muttering, almost tentatively, “And...you call him Deku.” It was more of a statement than a question, and Katsuki marginally stiffened. He had _never_ called Deku’s nickname around him. 

Deku’s eyes widened. “Yeah, he does-“

“You’re….” IcyHot’s brow furrowed as he regarded Deku once again. “You’re Izuku Midoriya.”

Deku gasped while Katsuki’s jaw clenched. “Yes, I am!” Deku motioned to himself. “Does that mean that you remember me too?”

3212 tilted his head, searching Deku’s face until focusing on the wild hair Deku never learned how to tame. “You dyed your hair.”

Deku annoyingly gasped again, and Katsuki bit out, “From what color? It’s fucking obvious that he dyed it.”

“Black,” IcyHot easily answered. 

Many emotions clashed within Katsuki \- mostly disbelief, doubt, and rage because this fucker _had_ to be obtaining their memories _somehow_ \- while multiple flashed across Deku’s face, and Katsuki knew what was coming when he faced him, voice quiet, “Kacchan-“

“Ask him the damn questions we came here for,” Katsuki ordered through clenched teeth, glaring at 3212, who seemed the slightest bit confused.

Deku opened and closed his mouth a few times before nodding. “Okay…” He absently tugged on his sleeve and addressed the SCP, “Other than me introducing myself, we also came to ask a few questions to make sure that you are really Shoto Todoroki...our childhood friend.”

IcyHot looked back and forth between him and Katsuki, it lingering longer on the latter, before nodding. “Go ahead.”

“Alright, so...do you remember your family?”

IcyHot shook his head, and Katsuki was about to say ‘told you so’ to Deku, but then the bastard continued, “No. The only things I remember from before are you two.”

 _From before_? Those words echoed in Katsuki’s mind because that wasn’t the first time IcyHot had said that. What in the hell did he mean?

“Really?” Deku cradled his chin. “Then maybe saying their names would help you jog your memory? Like it did with us?” IcyHot didn’t reply, waiting, and Deku said, “Does the name Fuyumi ring a bell?”

IcyHot shook his head. “No.”

“What about Natsuo?”

“No.”

“Touya?”

“No.”

“Rei?”

“...I don’t know.”

“Hah?!” Katsuki barked; that was a yes or no question, not something in between. “How the fuck do you not know?”

IcyHot was looking at the floor, bangs hanging and eyes distant. A frown pulled at his lips. “I just don’t. I...feel like I should know, but I…” He trained off, brows creasing together. 

Deku placed a hand in the glass. “Well, don’t give yourself a headache, okay? We’ll get back to her in a bit. How about Enji?”

IcyHot’s head snapped up, eyes cold as steel, while the temperature inside skyrocketed up to a hundred and thirty degrees. 

Katsuki assumed the answer was yes. 

Deku snatched his hand from the window while Katsuki activated the air conditioning in the chamber, that and the ventilation roaring inside. The temperature only fell to a hundred. 

IcyHot pinned a stunned Deku with his gaze, tone sharp as he spoke, “That’s my father.”

While Katsuki still couldn’t - _wouldn’t -_ believe him, it was clear that IcyHot believed _himself_ , especially with all of the emotion packed into that short sentence. The heated reaction was another given as well. Like, what the _fuck_ was that? 

“That’s…” Deku scrambled for words. “...good that you remember him-“

“I don’t want to,” IcyHot interrupted, shaking his head as the heat fought against the AC. It was steadily rising despite the cold blast. “I don’t want to remember him. I don’t.” He took a step back, hand covering the left side of his face as his breaths grew shallower. “I don’t. I don’t _ever-“_

Katsuki watched speechless as the SCP stumbled backwards some more, starting to hyperventilate. His trembling was obvious from here as it spread across his body. The uncovered eye was blown wide, seeing things they couldn’t as the hand covering his face shifted to dig into crimson hair, pulling. 

“I’m sorry!” Deku was trying to desperately fix the situation, voice heavy with remorse. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have brought him up! I didn’t know!”

IcyHot wasn’t listening to him, breaths harsh as the shaking increased. The temperature showed no signs of coming back down. Then, something within Katsuki shifted when a hard sob tore out of IcyHot’s throat, causing him to shout, “Calm down, dammit! Just fucking breathe!” The SCP lifted his head, the trails of tears shining in the artificial light, and Katsuki swallowed the lump in his throat as he ordered, “Just breathe, bastard. _Breathe.”_

That always worked on Todoroki whenever he woke up screaming from nightmares in the middle of the night. 

IcyHot took a deep breath on command before slowly sinking down to the floor, crossing his legs and burying his head in his hands. Each breath he took was loud and ragged but growing more controlled as the seconds ticked by. Fingers were still curled tight in his hair. 

“I didn’t mean to…” Deku shakily repeated, sounding on the verge of tears himself. 

IcyHot didn’t respond. The temperature was finally starting to drop. 

Katsuki’s nails dug into his palms.

_“Breathe, idiot! Breathe, I’m right here, dammit.”_

_“...I woke you again. S-Sorry.”_

_“Yeah, you should be. Second time this week I had to get out of my damn bed.”_

_“Sorry.”_

_“You already freaking said that.”_

_“I know, but it’s not fair to you.”_

_“It’s not fair to anyone. Nightmares piss me off. Scoot over.”_

_“...I want to apologize again.”_

_“Be quiet and close your stupid eyes.”_

_“Okay.”_

“Kacchan.” A tug in his sleeve took Katsuki out of the memory. Deku was looking at him with eyes that were begging but somehow also filled with firm resolve. “Kacchan, it’s him. I know...I know he’s supposed to be gone, but the info last night and now this…” His voice lowered, filled to the brim with emotion. “That’s Todoroki. I don’t know how, but he is. You have to feel the same way, right?”

Katsuki growled, yanking his arm away. “Why are you so fucking _eager_ to call that thing Todo-“

“Because he’s our _friend_ , Kacchan!” Deku yelled, a rare glare being aimed at him. “You ask me why I’m eager, but why are you so _against_ it? The chances are slim, I’ll give you that, but you never let risks stop you before!”

Katsuki wasn’t backing down, shouting back, “Did _you_ forget where we work, huh? This place is _filled_ with pieces of shit trying to mess with our heads! He’s no fucking different, and I’m not-“

“But what if he is?” Deku cut him off, words losing their edge. His gaze remained unwavering, however. “Wouldn’t you give Todoroki the benefit of the doubt?” He looked at Katsuki like he _knew,_ knew something that couldn’t be said within the range of the cameras. 

Fuck him, and fuck this. 

So what if he and Todoroki had been close a decade ago? It hadn’t been anything special, for fuck’s sake. They were barely teens, and Todoroki had been too fucking awkward to be left alone. That was it. And it wasn’t like the idiot had been the only person Katsuki’s gotten close with. He’d had dates and flings in the past. So why was Deku _still looking at him like that?_

Like when Katsuki had first broken down, about a month after the incident. 

Like whenever his relationships never lasted more than a week. 

Deku sighed, running stressed fingers through his hair. He then faced the window again; IcyHot’s face was still hidden by trembling fingers. His chest shook with each breath. “We’ll...leave you alone for a bit, okay Todoroki? You probably want to be alone for a while…” The only response he got was the temperature jumping three degrees before returning to its path down. “We’ll be back, though! You should get some more rest if you can.”

When he got no reply, temperature or otherwise, Deku gestured toward the control panel. Katsuki shot him an agitated look and was about to cover the glass, but a voice made him pause. 

“Can…” IcyHot sounded breathy and worn, words being pushed out by tired lungs. “Can I have some breakfast?”

Katsuki looked incredulously at him while Deku smiled. “Yeah, we’ll have our boss bring it to you.”

“Thank you.”

The smile saddened as Deku walked off, and Katsuki followed after hiding the window and deactivating the AC. He glared at the nerd’s dumb hair as they went. 

Deku didn’t say a word going back to Aizawa’s office.

Katsuki didn’t care.

* * *

 ** _Item #:_ ** _SCP-3212_

 **_Addendum:_ ** _The name ‘Enji Todoroki’ should not be said in proximity to SCP-3212. The utterance of this name causes panic attacks in SCP-3212. The reasons are unknown at this time._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! Do we have a breakthrough this chapter? Let's see...

Katsuki wished that Aizawa wasn’t his boss sometimes so he could curse him out. Because at this moment, as he stomped down the hallways wearing a damn suit while carrying two pieces of fucking toast and a cup of water, he _desperately_ wanted to. 

Stupid, shitty, motherfu-

“Keep your thoughts to yourself, Bakugo.”

Was he saying that out loud? He didn’t care because why _him?!_

“Why me?!” Katsuki echoed his thoughts, glaring hard at the chamber as he approached it. “Why not freaking Deku?!”

Aizawa had his hands in his pockets as he walked beside him. He wasn’t bothered at all by his mouth, giving Katsuki a level glance. “Because 3212 seems the most attached to you, and we don’t need his mental state to spiral out of control. All you need to do is sit in there for a while. I’ll be on guard if anything goes wrong.”

 _Most attached._ Katsuki gritted his teeth together at those words. “But-“

Aizawa sighed, voice lowering as he approached the sealed window. “Just do it.” Katsuki didn’t have time to answer or curse or anything before the man revealed the inside of the chamber. IcyHot was cross-legged on the floor, still recovering from the attack he had earlier. When the metal covering slid, the SCP subtly startled but didn’t lift his head up, it cradled by his hands. Aizawa didn’t waste any time. “Bakugo is bringing you your breakfast. He is also going to stay with you until you calm down, is that alright?”

That caused a bigger reaction. IcyHot slowly lifted his head to stare at Aizawa before shifting to Katsuki. Katsuki glared back at him, not caring about the nearly dried tear stains or the bloodshot eyes. His day had barely started and 3212 was already fucking it up. This was all bullshit, nothing but a trap that they were all walking into. Any similarities he shared with Todoroki were just- 

“It’s...fine.” IcyHot took a deep breath, running fingers through his tousled hair. “He can come in.”

Katsuki clicked his tongue in agitation, marching toward the entrance without a word, keeping his choice words in his mind this time. After enduring the temperature-controlled chamber, Katsuki stomped into 3212’s room. IcyHot had moved to the couch, cloudy eyes focused on him, and he simply wanted to be as far away from this damn room as possible. Hell, he’d rather be partnered with Sparky for a week than deal with this shit. 

Promising death with his stare, Katsuki approached IcyHot, dropping the toast into his lap when he got close enough and barely made sure that the SCP had a good enough grip on the cup before letting it go. Katsuki then sat heavily down on the couch, putting as much space between him and the bastard as possible. He also gave a middle finger to the camera because fuck everyone who was watching. 

Aizawa stood at the window, but he was facing the other way with his back to them. He was giving them the illusion of some sort of privacy, even though that didn’t exist in this place. And neither did sanity, apparently. 

IcyHot looked in that direction too before shifting his attention to his breakfast. “He’s making you stay here?” he asked, voice low and controlled, the complete opposite of how it was during that breakdown. 

Katsuki adjusted himself in the uncomfortable suit, despising every second of this. He looked away from the idiot. “Fucking obviously.”

There was a moment of silence, and Katsuki felt eyes on him. He glared at the adjacent wall as IcyHot muttered, “Sorry about before. I...don’t know what happened.”

Katsuki scoffed. He was wasting his damn breath. “Don’t apologize to me. I don’t give a shit.” There was more quiet until he heard the sound of crumbling toast. Eye twitching, Katsuki snapped his head around, biting out, “And would you stop eating those like a fucking _child?_ ”

Lithe fingers stopped tearing off the crust. IcyHot peered at him through messy bangs and subtly frowned. “I prefer them this way.”

_“They’re easier to eat.”_

Katsuki sucked his teeth and pointedly turned his head away. “Fucking whatever.”

3212 went back to separating the crust, sniffing once or twice, and Katsuki was one second away from asking how the hell did IcyHot knew Enji Todoroki, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t feel like being in the room if 3212 went off again, and hearing Aizawa’s mouth later wasn’t on his to-do list either. He kept his thoughts to himself, and a tiny sliver of his brain wondered that if the memory shit wasn’t true, then how did IcyHot know of the father? Also, the mother was a toss-up, for whatever fucking reason. If he ever decided to believe the bastard on that front, what did it mean?

“Kat-“ There was a pause, then, “Bakugo?”

Katsuki forcefully sighed, making sure the message of his discontent was sent. “I don’t want to fucking talk to you.”

IcyHot was the one to sigh this time. It was breathy, hints of frustration swirled within. “You’re the child here.”

Rage instantly sparked inside, and Katsuki whirled around. “What in the fucking _shit-“_

“You’re wary of me, I understand.” The jackass interrupted him, biting into the toast, chewing and swallowing. He met Katsuki’s molten glare with murky eyes. “I know where we are and what you all do, that there are things here that could kill you in an instant.”

“Like _you?”_ Katsuki bristled. He wondered if he could get a good punch in before Aizawa noticed. 

“Like me.” IcyHot didn’t argue, but something shifted in his eyes. His voice grew quieter. “But, why are you seemingly the only one who hates me personally? That, I don’t understand.”

Katsuki liked him better when he only communicated with the stupid temperature. “Because you’re a fucking liar.” His words were laced with venom.

IcyHot took a sip of his water, unaffected. “I’m not lying.” He wiped away any remainder of tears. “Midoriya figured that out, at least.”

“He’s a damn idiot.”

“He’s not, and you know that.”

That rubbed Katsuki the wrong way, this _whole_ conversation was. “How would _you_ know, bastard?” 3212 was acting like he’d known Deku for a long ass time, and Katsuki shut that down immediately. “Don’t act like-“

“I’m not acting like anything,” IcyHot interrupted for a _second_ time; he was getting a little too comfortable here, talking to Katsuki like that. He took another bite of toast and said, “Midoriya’s smart and overthinks everything, you are impulsive and unwavering, not letting anything get in your way. I know that much about you two. I’m just not sure why I do.” He finished off that slice and began tearing off the crust of the other. “That’s why I want you to believe me. To help me remember.”

“Well, you’re barking up the wrong fucking tree,” Katsuki crossed his arms as well as he could in the suit. The reasoning didn’t matter. IcyHot could’ve pulled that out of his ass just now. “Single out Deku if you want to know so damn badly.” Katsuki wasn’t going to be part of this.

The SCP tore the last bit of crust. “I want _you_ to believe me.” Then he frowned, glancing at a puddle on the floor that must’ve been that crown of ice. “Something about you…”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. “What _about_ me?”

IcyHot stayed quiet for a beat too long before he asked, “What would it take for you to believe me?” He was still looking at the puddle. 

“Easy.” Katsuki derisively snorted. “You not being a goddamn SCP.”

The frustration was back. “But that’s-“

“Impossible. Exactly my fucking point.”

“So, if I wasn’t like this, you would’ve believed me?”

“Hell no,” Katsuki curtly replied before - for some damn reason - adding on, “I _might have_ looked into it, if I felt like it.”

IcyHot tilted his head, eyes searching his face. “But haven’t you already, though? Midoriya was talking about some information earlier.”

Deku _seriously_ needed to shut his damn mouth sometimes. “That was nothing-“

“What did you find out?” Any frustration was gone at this point, replaced with muted curiosity as IcyHot bit his sweetened toast. “You keep saying that I died. Was it about that?”

Katsuki would be tearing his hair out if it wasn’t for the suit. “It’s none of your fucking-“

“Was it a house fire?” Katsuki froze at the question, thoughts screeching to a halt, and IcyHot noticed but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he continued, “It was one of my first memories, waking up in a grassy yard as a house in front of me lit up the night sky.” 3212’s brow creased. “It was around ten years ago, I think. If that’s the same one that you searched-“

“Where?” Katsuki hissed, body basically vibrating with anger. No, it _couldn’t_ be. “Where the fuck was the fire?”

IcyHot didn’t seem to know why he was reacting like this. Good. “The outskirts of Musutafu, I’m sure. Why-“ The rest of the words died in his throat, replaced by a shocked gasp when Katsuki pounced at him, wrapping a hand around his neck and smacking his head against the arm of the couch. The water spilled, and the toast ended up on the floor, but he didn’t care. 

Katsuki squeezed, towering over the bastard, and IcyHot’s eyes were wide in shock. There was no fear. Yet. “Did you kill him, fucker?” He pressed harder and hands shot up to grasp his wrist. Aizawa was ordering him to stop, but Katsuki only leaned closer and snarled, “ _Did you?!”_

Unfortunately, the fear never came. IcyHot shook his head as best as he could in his position. “I didn’t cause the fire,” he wheezed, fingers tightening around his wrist but not shoving him off. “I didn’t _die_ , Bakugo.” Katsuki opened his mouth to refute it, but 3212 didn’t let him speak. “I’m telling the truth. There’s proof.”

“Like _hell_ am I going to believe-“

“There are cherry blossom trees around the property.” The SCP inhaled shakily. “I woke up near one that had carvings in it. The writing told me to leave, and...not to trust anyone.” His eyes grew distant; tiny ice crystals formed underneath IcyHot’s fingertips. “It should still be there.”

Katsuki was half listening, seeing red. “As if you damn _murderer-“_

“Bakugo!” His boss’ very loud and very pissed off voice cut him off, and Katsuki flickered his gaze to where Aizawa was. The man’s expression was tight, and those eyes pinned him down. His next words were sharp and chilled. “Come. Out. _Now.”_

Even though every nerve in his body was screaming not to, Katsuki snatched his wrist from IcyHot’s grip and stiffly got off the couch. The SCP took a deep breath as he sat up, gently rubbing his throat. Katsuki fumed as he left, fists itching to punch, to make that freak regret ever existing.

Outside of the chamber, Aizawa leveled a harsh stare into him. “You’re leaving for today.”

Katsuki knew that was coming, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t get paid, so what? He got to go home, able to scream and shout and throw as much shit as he wanted to-

“That doesn’t mean you’re still not working.” Aizawa tersely continued. He glanced back at the chamber, IcyHot hidden from view by the closed window, before ordering, “You’re going to that property.”

Katsuki stared at him, waiting to see if Aizawa would finish with a damn punchline because that had to be a fucking _joke._ “Are you fucking serious? You’re actually-“

“You’re doing it, Bakugo.” Aizawa didn’t give him a chance to finish, tone authoritative. “I expect pictures later on.” He turned and walked away.

Katsuki couldn’t believe this shit. “That’s a four-hour drive from here!”

“You better get going then.” There was no forgiveness in Aizawa’s voice. “I’ll compensate for gas.”

Again, Katsuki _really_ wished that he wasn’t his goddamn boss.

* * *

Katsuki was biting into a burger when his phone began to ring. He glared at the device in his passenger seat, seeing that Shitty Hair was calling, which wasn’t a surprise at all. His phone had been blissfully silent most of the stupid ride, and now it was almost noon. That meant it was lunchtime, and Katsuki would bet anything that Kirishima wouldn’t be the only one on the call. 

He debated answering, for one hand was holding his own lunch and the other was steering him along some backwoods road that was more dirt than asphalt. A major part of him wanted to let it ring, but the other part told him to answer because they would just keep calling and calling, getting on his damn nerves. He was wired up enough already.

Biting back a curse, Katsuki dropped the wrapped burger into his lap and reached for his phone, keeping his eyes on the road just in case a deer decided to jump out or some shit. He felt around before grabbing his phone, answering it, and putting it on speaker phone.

He palmed his burger again as Kirishima’s voice rang out, _“Hey, Bakubro! Thought you wouldn’t answer!”_

Katsuki slowed at a four-way stop, seeing nothing but trees and empty roads in every direction before continuing on. “Almost didn’t.” He bit into his lunch. “Until I realized you’d be more annoying if I hadn’t.”

Kirishima laughed. _“You got me there! Gotta make sure you were okay-“_

“How many of them are there with you?” Katsuki wanted to get that out of the way. 

_“Quick with that one, huh? Everyone is!”_

Multiple variations of _“Hey, Bakugo!”_ were shouted, and Katsuki rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t have expected anything less.

“I know you didn’t call just to check up on me.” Katsuki sneered in disgust at some dead animal on the side of the road, giving it a wide berth as he passed. “You either saw or know about what happened and you want to ask what the fuck is wrong with me.”

 _“Well, uh…”_ Ashido trailed off before coming back strong. _“No point in hiding it! Choking him out, Bakugo? Really?!”_

 _“That was incredibly dangerous!”_ Iida co-signed. _“He could have retaliated harshly!”_

Katsuki’s grip on the wheel tightened. “I don’t give a shit.”

Uraraka was next. _“Yeah, that’s obvious, but I don’t think he deserved that…”_

“You don’t _think_ -“ He took a breath to keep from shouting. “He _killed_ a whole family, and you don’t think he deserved it? What kind of shitty thinking is that?”

 _“There’s no proof that he did it, Kacchan. Only that he was there.”_ Deku’s calm voice made his blood boil. He of all people should understand. _“And if you find that tree, it validates his story even more.”_

“I won’t find shit. Aizawa’s sending me out here for a damn punishment.”

_“Totally understandable if that’s the case.”_

“Shut up, Raccoon Eyes.”

Kirishima hopped back into the conversation. _“And like, I dunno man, IcyHot’s words seem sincere? I know that doesn’t mean much because he’s a SCP, but...it’s just a gut feeling. What’s the point of telling us about the tree if it isn’t true?”_

 _“Right!”_ He could hear Uraraka’s smile. _“We’d lose all trust in him, and that’s not what he’s after. He wants us to trust him.”_

_“Particularly Bakugo, which I think is adorable especially if he really somehow is Shoto Todoroki.”_

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?” Katsuki snapped, not appreciating the giggle afterwards. “That thing isn’t him, end of story.”

There was silence on the other end. Fucking traitors, all of them. 

_“...We’ll just see, okay Bakubro? How close are you to the house?”_

Katsuki glanced down at the middle console of the car, searching for the time on the screen he was using for GPS. He was on a long stretch of road now, and it said he should get there in- “I’m ten minutes away. About damn time.”

_“Want us to stay on with you until you get there?”_

“Hell no.”

Katsuki hung up on them, teeth holding onto the burger as he did so. Then he angrily tore off a piece once his hand was free again, knowing that Deku was the reason why they were so apt to believe the bastard. Well, when he found no words on any stupid tree, he’d rub it in all of their faces. 

The promise of snug gratification filled his head as he drove along, leaving almost no room for the reluctance that had been slowly bubbling the closer he got to the home. It was one thing to look at pictures, but being at the location where the Todoroki family took their last breath had dropped an uncomfortable weight in Katsuki’s stomach that refused to disappear. He ignored the feeling, though, focusing on the satisfaction of being right as he sped up.

The trees surrounding the road eventually spread out on one side, the sea of green interrupted by bits of sky. They grew more and more scarce, and a few emotions clashed within Katsuki once he saw the remains of the home in the distance, not torn all the way down even after all these years. And, true to the pictures and halfie’s words, there were cherry blossom trees littered around the massive yard, _too_ fucking many to examine. This was going to take too long, but…

Katsuki gazed upon the property as he pulled into the lengthy driveway, which was cracked and worn, grasses and weeds pushing through any space they could find. He parked at the edge and turned his car off, watching as pink blossoms floated over the blacked remains of where a house once stood. Of where a family once lived.

The house had been two stories tall, just as towering as the pink trees decorating the landscape around it, but now it was nothing but rubble. Scorched brick and stone were in random piles along its concrete foundation. The structure of the house was entirely gone, the only hints left behind were the charred wooden planks sticking out of the mounds, splintered and weakened. There was no evidence of a roof or even windows, all eaten by that damn inferno a decade ago. 

Moss had covered some of the rubble, painting green splotches on top of the black heap. More weeds sprung up between the bricks and stone as well - the little assholes were everywhere, actually - living despite the lingering death that blanketed this place. Katsuki had thought some other family would have bought and built another house here, considering the blossoms and ample space, but the past kept people away, apparently. 

Katsuki stared at the site for another moment, finger tapping against the steering wheel, before deciding to get out of the car. “Time to prove those fuckers wrong,” he said, climbing out and slamming the door behind him. 

The air was fresh and crisp, Katsuki breathing it in as he scouted the trees, forcing any stubborn memories down. He was on a mission here and couldn’t afford to be distracted. 

There were about fifteen or so trees, all scattered and spaced out, and Katsuki honed onto the one closest to him. It was right at the edge of the yard, branches peeking out into the road. Katsuki trudged through the overgrown grasses and caught a blossom floating by his head, feeling the soft petals between his fingers. The lush branches provided shade from the high reaching sun, to Katsuki’s brief joy.

He stepped closer to the dark wood of the trunk, eyes narrowed as he examined it. There was nothing that stood out, other than a few patches of moss that had grown on the rough surface. He searched around the three, not bothering to look above eye level because why would he? If what IcyHot claimed was true, then the letters would be at standing height or lower. After two circles around the trunk, Katsuki didn’t find shit and checked this tree off the too long list. 

He looked out at the rest of the cherry blossom trees, their branches rocking softly in the wind, tinting the air with pink. Thankfully, the fire only had a taste for the house and not the landscape around it.

Katsuki was about to march over to a neighboring tree when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Sighing like this was the biggest inconvenience, he pulled it out and checked however the fuck texted him. It was Shitty Hair. Of course it was.

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _Hey, man! Just checkin if you’re okay. Makin sure a bear hasn’t gotten to you or something_

Katsuki rolled his eyes, walking over to the next tree.

 **_Me:_ ** _No, I haven’t been eaten by a fucking bear_

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _That’s good! How’s the search going?_

 **_Me:_ ** _Barely started_

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _Oh, well keep me updated, kay?_

 **_Me:_ ** _I’ll tell you when I leave after finding nothing_

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _What if you find something?_

 **_Me:_ ** _I won’t._

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _Uh huh_

 **_Kirishima:_ ** _Send me a picture!_

Katsuki wasn’t going to because the fucker didn’t deserve it, but again, he knew how persistent Shitty Hair could be and snapped a pic of the trees anyway. 

**_Kirishima:_ ** _They look so cool!_

Katsuki scoffed at the immaturity before putting away his phone and checking the second tree of today. It was near identical to the first, except having an exposed fucking root that Katsuki tripped over, and he went to check the next, hating how spaced out each tree was. 

After his seventh, Katsuki was about to go to the one nearest to the house, but he spotted two farther away in the backyard. They were near where the yard ended, leading into thicker and greener trees. Katsuki huffed as he went to check them first, for he knew that he wasn’t going to want to do it later as the heat and all of the stomping got to him. 

Katsuki swatted away a few bugs on the way over, cursing their annoying existence. He pushed a couple low hanging branches to the side when he got closer. Scanning the first trunk, he expected nothing and that’s what he found. Nothing but rough bark, spongy moss, and thin vines. He checked the next one and found the same thing, but this one had more moss and-

Katsuki froze. 

He was around the back of the tree, closest to where the yard ended and woods began. His eyes were locked onto a space beside a patch of moss, a space that clearly had the letters ‘L’ and ‘E’ carved deeply into the bark. Katsuki blinked a few times, making sure that he wasn’t imagining this, that some bug hadn’t stung him somewhere and caused his brain to fuck with his vision. 

No. The letters were still there. 

“The hell?” Katsuki asked the shifting blossoms, reaching up and tracing the ‘L’ with a finger. “What is…?” He glanced at the moss before bending down and picking up a discarded branch. Clutching it tight, Katsuki began scrapping the large patch of moss away, the scratching sound being drowned out by his own pounding pulse as more and more letters were revealed. 

The branch hung limply in his hold as he read what was there.

LEAVE, SHO

TRUST

NO

ONE

The letters were warped from the growth of the tree and worn from time, but they were still legible. The message was clear, curt, and the branch dropped to the ground as Katsuki took a slight step back. 

Leave, Sho.

Sho.

_Shoto._

What did this…What did this mean? Was 3212...really...

Katsuki took a photo with slightly trembling fingers and sent it to the first person that came to mind. 

They called him not a thirty seconds later. 

_“Kacchan-“_

Katsuki struggled to control his voice, fighting to keep his emotions in check. “I don’t care who the fuck you tell, but the first person to talk to that bastard will be _me._ Got it? _No one else_.”

 _“...Okay.”_ Deku’s answer was soft and gentle, almost a whisper. There was a moment of silence, Katsuki keeping the phone up to his ear as he read those words over and over and over again. He almost didn't notice when Deku quietly asked, _“How are you feeling?”_

“Fuck off.” Anger and something else Katsuki refused to name was leaking into his voice now, and he couldn’t stop it. “And fuck this. Fuck _this!”_ He clenched a fist with his free hand, fingers tightening around the phone. “Why the fuck - _how-_ “

 _“Calm down, Kacchan! Just...calm down, okay?”_ Deku’s words were somewhat wobbly, emotions affecting him as well. _“Keep a level head until you get back to the apartment. Then we can…Then we can talk about this.”_

Katsuki sighed, long and hard, before gritting out, “Fine.” He hung up, eyes scanning the carvings once more before shifting over to the burnt down house. The remnants of the inferno that had supposedly ripped away six lives. 

The reports had been wrong. _Dead_ wrong. 

Katsuki punched the tree one, two, three times as he remembered the complete and utter _devastation_ when he had first read those reports in the past. 

“Damn bastards…” Katsuki spat, not exactly sure who or what he was angry at. He just _was,_ and…

_“I want you to believe me.”_

Katsuki ran for his car, not once looking back.

* * *

Kirishima called him once he was an hour down the road and stayed on the rest of the drive. He talked about the different SCPs he was checking on, how it was almost boring without him there, basically mentioning anything but not breathing a word about IcyHot. Shitty Hair had to have known, though, or else he would’ve said something by now. He wouldn’t have called him either, if the news hadn’t spread.

Katsuki didn’t hang up until he returned to the apartment, the sun starting to set in the sky. Deku was already inside waiting for him. He had already changed into comfortable clothes, sitting cross-legged on the couch with a laptop resting on his knees. He was chewing on another damn pen.

Deku looked up from the screen and gave him a small smile, though many other emotions were clashing in his eyes. He then leaned forward to grab a small bag of candies off the coffee table. “I had Iida stop at the store before he dropped me off.” He held the bag out.

Katsuki walked over and sunk into the couch, snatching the candy out of his hand. He ripped open the bag and plopped one of the spheres into his mouth, immediately feeling the burn of the cinnamon.

Silence reigned until Deku placed the laptop to the side and turned to face him. “Kacchan…” His tone was careful yet serious. Katsuki popped another candy into his mouth. “I need you to answer this, alright? Tell the truth.” Deku rolled that disgusting pen between his fingers. “After what you found out today, do you believe that SCP-3212 is Shoto Todoroki? I need to know if you’re fully on board.”

“Why?” Katsuki retorted, tense and not wanting this conversation, but he knew…he knew... “Why the hell do I need to be?”

Deku bit his lip. “So it would be easier on 3212...on Todoroki.” Katsuki clenched his jaw. “Mixed signals aren’t going to help anyone here, Kacchan.”

A small part of Katsuki’s mind was screaming that this wasn’t real, that this was some fucked up dream and he would wake up any minute. However, the larger more sensible part of him told that section to shut the hell up and face the facts. SCP-3212 called himself Shoto Todoroki. 3212 had been there during the house fire. He had seen the message, the message written by whoever-the-fuck to tell Shoto to leave. 

“It would be stupid not to be at this fucking point,” Katsuki borderline spat, common sense smothering the part of him the prioritized being right over everything else. 

Deku didn’t say anything to that. His smile returned with a vengeance. Katsuki pointedly looked away from him. “So…” the nerd started, “Now that’s out in the open, we have an even bigger mystery on our hands.” Deku sighed, sadness flashing across his face. “How...did Todoroki get like that?” He continued chewing on the pen. “He was there during the fire, but he doesn’t remember anything beforehand-“

“Something happened at that goddamn house.” Katsuki cut in; Deku met his gaze, but there was no surprise. It was obvious at this point. The thought had been on Katsuki’s mind the entire ride back. “And it wasn’t no fucking lamp.”

“Right.” Deku gestured to the laptop. “I’ve been digging deep to try to search for any possible answers about the cover up and the kids, but I’ve found nothing. Nothing different from yesterday.”

Katsuki pondered that for a moment, glaring up at the ceiling like it was its fault everything happened. “We’ll have Aizawa fucking search, then. If there’s a damn _hint_ of SCP involvement, the real shit is going to be locked up tight.”

“Even from workers? That’s the weird part…”

Katsuki frowned. He couldn’t figure that out either. SCP shit was blocked off from the public, but employees could access it no problem. However, this was different. There was nothing _to_ access. 

“I guess we can leave it to Aizawa tomorrow…” Deku sighed again, running his fingers through his wild hair. They didn’t say a thing for a moment, thinking, until Deku looked at him with a gaze that Katsuki didn’t appreciate. “About...Todoroki himself, do you want to talk about-“

“Absolutely fucking not.”

Again, Deku didn’t seem surprised. His too expressive eyes shone with understanding as he stood, closing the laptop. “I’m going to take a nap. Been a long day.” Katsuki grunted in response, silently enjoying the candy, having the heat take up most thoughts in his mind. “There’s food in the fridge if you’re hungry. Had Iida stop for that too. Pretty sure you didn’t want to cook today.”

Katsuki grunted once more, giving him a level look. “Or you could cook fucking _once_ in your life.”

Deku chuckled. “I will, eventually! Really don’t feel like burning the apartment down.” He waved over his shoulder, walking out of the living room. Katsuki was reaching for the TV remote when the nerd’s head popped back in. “Oh, and Kacchan?”

“What?”

A shit-eating grin split his face in half. “I told you so.”

“Come back here you _damn_ _-“_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile, but here's the next chapter!

The next morning, Katsuki made sure to get to the facility early to avoid any shitty conversations. He had dumped all of his stuff on Deku, having him take it to his office and tell Aizawa what the fuck he was doing. He was pretty sure Aizawa already knew, though. Knew that Katsuki would march down to that bastard’s chamber the first chance he got.

He kept his gaze forward and mind blank as he went, wasting no time in getting to Icy - _dammit -_ Todoroki’s room. The hallways were nearly empty, just his footsteps echoing off the metallic walls all the way up until he reached his destination.

Outside of the chamber, Katsuki glared at the sealed window that hid the _one_ thing that caused shit to hit the fan. His life had been normal before IcyHot showed his face, and now...and now…

“Fuck,” Katsuki spat before jabbing the button, the slab of metal sliding to the side to reveal the interior. He expected the halfie to be asleep like he’d always been, but not this damn time. Todoroki was sitting up on the couch, looking at the window like he’d been expecting Katsuki. Katsuki narrowed his eyes, examining the other and really taking him in. Having thrown away his blind stubbornness, he recognized the resemblance the more he stared and just... _dammit._

“The hell’re you doing up?” Katsuki asked, words thin and sharp. He had to stay his usual self to keep composure. “You look like shit.” Paler skin than normal, visible bags under his eyes. Katsuki doubted he even slept. 

Todoroki rubbed his eyes and stood, wavering a bit. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Katsuki scoffed, watching him walk over to the window. The boy who had supposed to die in a fire ten years ago. Katsuki dug his nails into his palm as he sneered. “Why? Nervous that we’d catch you in that damn lie?”

“No.” Todoroki stopped in front of the window, not fazed at all by his biting tone. “I’d been thinking about how’d you react when you came back.” A frown pulled at his lips as he asked, “You found the message, right? You wouldn’t have been here so early if you hadn’t.” Katsuki glared at him, gritting his teeth. Todoroki’s brow creased. “Are you...upset that you did?”

Katsuki had no idea how to act around him now. “No, I’m not fucking _upset._ Fuck you.” He was pissed. Pissed that Todoroki had ‘died’, pissed that he had come back like _this_ , pissed that memories had returned to him in dreams last night, brown hair replaced with red and white and mismatched eyes and- “So what if I found the damn message? Your situation stays the fucking same.”

He was still a freak, after all.

“That’s...fine.” Todoroki’s sigh was long and heavy. The frown then morphed into the ghost of a smile that was barely there, but Katsuki caught it, the familiarity of it causing his nails to dig deeper. “I’m just glad that you know who I am. Have you told Midoriya too?”

“Everyone fucking knows,” Katsuki bit, trying and failing to adjust, to adapt. This was _Todoroki,_ not just the shitty SCP that rubbed him the wrong way. This was the fucker he had given that crown to, who disappeared from the face of the earth for a _decade._ A jagged scar Katsuki never had a chance to recover from. Todoroki was standing right in front of him, with the ability of a shitty thermostat. 

This whole situation was so goddamn stupid. 

Silence had reigned for a long moment, long enough for Todoroki to say for _some_ insane reason, “I forgive you. For everything before.” He rubbed his neck, gaze holding no ill-will. “I understand why.”

“Wha-?” Katsuki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You think I feel guilty about the stuff I did and said to you?” He poked the pane of glass separating them. “ _Fuck_ that. You deserved it.” He wasn’t apologizing for anything. Everything he did was within reason, more or less. 

Todoroki tilted his head, hair shifting. “I deserved you attacking me after telling the truth?”

Katsuki crossed his arms and scowled at him. Todoroki evenly stared back, unbothered. At least that hadn’t changed. Even in the past, his glares and harsh words never seemed to provoke him. Nothing ever did, for the most part. It was one of the reasons why Katsuki didn’t find him annoying at the camp; he hadn’t been an emotional brat. Handling one had been more than enough. 

“Were we good friends in the past?” Todoroki derailed his train of thought, it careening off a cliff and bursting into a ball of flame. “Or something similar?”

Katsuki refused to step into that territory right now. His brain was already overloaded as it was. “Shut up, IcyHot,” he ordered, hardening his tone. “ _I’m_ asking the questions here.”

Strictly business. He could do that.

Todoroki didn’t comment on the avoidance of his question, instead asking, “Are you still going to call me that?”

“As long as you keep that shitty hair,” Katsuki shot back, smirking when he twisted a white strand almost self-consciously. Katsuki then lost the smirk when he asked, “So, you don’t remember _anything_ before waking up in that field?”

Todoroki dropped his hand. “Besides you, Midoriya, and…” His gaze subtly hardened when he looked away. _Enji,_ Katsuki’s mind provided. “...nothing else.”

“And what you do know of us is barely anything,” Katsuki said, and Todoroki nodded. It seemed like he wasn’t going to get shit out of IcyHot about the house, at least right now. So, he switched it up. “What about after? Don’t tell me you were roughin’ it for the past ten damn years.”

Todoroki shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been in and out of cities, not wanting to bring attention to myself.”

Katsuki frowned. “Because of that message?”

“Yeah.” 

“I bet you didn’t even know who the hell wrote it.” Katsuki was wondering that himself. It had to be connected to that fire. “Why did you do what it fucking said?”

“Because of this.” Todoroki snapped the fingers of his left hand. A small flickering flame emitted from the tips, pulling Katsuki’s attention. “Getting close to people would eventually end up with them finding out. So I didn’t.” The flame disappeared in a blink, like it had never been there. “I started roughing it only recently.”

Katsuki didn’t want to imagine Todoroki running around as a kid by himself with no friends or family, so he didn’t. “You sleep in a forest or some shit?”

“Abandoned cabin.” Todoroki covered his mouth when he yawned. “It was still in pretty good shape. A bed had been inside, and the electricity still worked. No AC or heat, but I didn’t need it.” 

Katsuki frowned. “So why the fuck did they find you in a cave?”

“I had been hiking,” he said with a half-hearted shrug, like it was completely normal. Like his whole _situation_ was normal. 

Ten years living basically in isolation. Even when Todoroki was blending in with people in cities, he was completely by himself. Even his own memories had left him high and dry. The fuck kind of life…?

Katsuki shook his head and moved on. It was nothing but history at this point. “You didn’t know that you were supposed to be dead before now,” he said, and Todoroki confirmed with a nod. “You didn’t wonder why the hell you were alone? You didn’t look yourself up?” It would’ve been easy enough to go into a damn library for the internet.

“I didn’t want to know why,” Todoroki easily replied. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“The fuck you mean?” Katsuki didn’t understand him. “You could’ve found distant relatives or something.” 

“I could have, but…” He rubbed his eye once more. “Trust no one, remember?”

That damn message again. “Yeah, but you’re sure as hell pretty trusting right now.” Katsuki pointed out, wondering why those words held so much weight. Katsuki wouldn’t have listened to letters scratched on a random tree for so long. “Why are we the exception?”

“Because I remember you and Midoriya,” he answered like it was obvious. It was, but Katsuki wanted to hear him say it. “You’re the key to my past, and we were friends too, right?”

Of course he would try to slip that in again. Katsuki exhaled harshly, clicking his tongue. “We knew each other. Not for long, though. Two months.”

“Really?” Todoroki frowned at that, like the answer wasn’t expected at all. He looked him over, and Katsuki could practically see the gears turning in his mind. “Only two months?”

“What?” Katsuki challenged, body tense as that mix-matched gaze examined him. “What’s so fucking strange about that?”

“Because with you, I feel like…” Todoroki trailed off. Katsuki was glad for it. He needed to stop this before IcyHot said something stupid the cameras picked up.

“You feel tired, that’s what you feel.” Katsuki jerked his chin over to the couch, itching to end this. “Go to sleep, jackass. We have too many zombie-like fuckers in this place as is.”

There was another yawn, and Todoroki made an ambiguous noise as he took a step away from the window. “Will we talk later?”

Katsuki scoffed. “I’m not here to be your damn entertainment. There are other assholes I have to watch over.” 

“So it’s a no?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Don’t sound so fucking disappointed.” Actually, Todoroki hadn’t sounded disappointed at all, asking a simple question, but Katsuki’s mouth was running on autopilot at the moment. “I’m sure some of the other idiots will take time to come down.”

“Okay.” There was barely any emotion in his response, and Katsuki frowned. He’d been good at noticing subtle cues from him, but his skills had been worn down by time. Todoroki gave a brief wave over his shoulder. “I’ll see you around, then.”

Katsuki scowled at how casual he was being. This wasn’t some chance encounter on a random ass street. Todoroki was confined to a glorified prison cell in the middle of an institution filled with nightmares of all shapes and sizes. _I’ll see you around_ , the hell?

Todoroki returned to the couch, flopping inelegantly into the cushions. He stretched out on his stomach, his body spanning the length of the sofa, and raised a tired brow when he saw Katsuki still standing there. 

Katsuki’s scowl deepened as he closed the window and marched off.

They needed to get the bastard a damn shirt.

* * *

When he got to Aizawa’s office, he expected the section head and Deku to be waiting for him, not his whole stupid team.

“What the fuck,” he ground out, glaring at the group of idiots. He’d gotten here early so this _wouldn’t_ happen. 

Ashido rolled her eyes, which didn’t seem to be as immaculately lined as normal. “I mean, it was _obvious_ that you’d come in early. We wanted to hear the convo too! Especially since we couldn’t talk to him yesterday because of _someone_ ,” she said, giving Katsuki a pointed look.

Kaminari yawned. “I had been excited after missing out yesterday, but coming in early just so you could treat him the same wasn’t worth it.”

Katsuki gave a derisive scoff. “What? You thought I was gonna be all rainbows and flowers and shit to him just because I knew him _ten_ years ago?” Plus, with Todoroki barely remembering anything, they were basically strangers at this point. “S’not my fault you lack common sense.”

Uraraka hummed, looking more put together than Ashido, Kaminari, and Kirishima, who hadn’t bothered gelling up his bed head. “Well, I didn’t think you’d be _that_ nice because of how you talk to Deku on a daily basis-“ At least someone got it. “-but aren’t you at least happy that he basically…came back from the dead?”

“Maybe I would’ve been if he wasn’t capable of melting someone’s damn face off.” He noticed Deku’s slight frown and it was promptly ignored. Katsuki faced Aizawa instead, watching him take a sip of his steaming coffee. “I’m not going to be happy until I find out what the hell happened to him.”

“Not even then,” Sparky muttered, and Katsuki already missed when the idiot _wasn’t_ here. 

Aizawa placed his mug down and sighed. The first of many today. “I’ll see what I can dig up, but there’s no guarantee. Time is a key factor here. Ten years is a long enough time for answers to disappear, especially in our line of work.”

“But it’s worth a try, correct?” Iida adjusted his glasses. “Especially in Todoroki’s special case?”

“It is.” Aizawa typed a few things in on his computer, sighing again as his gaze swept over them. “But in the meantime, I want you all to remember that 3212 is still an SCP.” He focused on Katsuki and Deku. “He may have had ties to you two in the past, but right now, he gets no special treatment. No rules are bent, no protocols are ignored, understand?”

“Yes sir,” Deku responded while Katsuki nodded like it was obvious. 

“Alright.” Aizawa shooed them away with a limp hand. “Prepare to patrol with your usual groups.” Ashido opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could say anything. “Yes, you can visit 3212 freely, but going inside his chamber is restricted only to mealtimes. How much control he has over his powers is still questionable. Now, go.”

There was a round of affirmatives, and Katsuki was the first out of the office, thinking about what busy work he could do to make time move faster. 

“Kacchan!” Katsuki cursed at the call, glaring over his shoulder as Deku caught up to him. The nerd was chewing in his bottom lip, but his eyes were confident. “When Todoroki wakes up, is it okay if I-“

“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.” Katsuki turned back around before emotions filled those damn eyes again. He felt them on his back, though. Annoying as hell. “Let’s go, Shitty Hair,” he ordered before stomping away. 

“Huh? Oh, coming, Bakubro!”

Katsuki kept his eyes ahead, ignoring whatever the idiots were saying behind him. They could say anything they wanted to the halfie. It was a free damn country. 

“Hey…”

“What?” Katsuki barked, snapped his gaze to the side. Kirishima was looking at him, his eyes near as bad as damn Deku’s. If he was going to start up some stupid conversation, Katsuki was going to turn back around and patrol with the second least annoying person on their team. And he wasn’t in the mood to babysit Ashido.

Kirishima stared for another second before smiling. “Wanna go to 294 to get some milkshakes?”

Katsuki wondered if Kirishima’s IQ corresponded with the amount of gel caked in his hair. “It’s seven-thirty in the fucking morning.” 

“So?” Kirishima beamed with a shrug. “I need the energy boost!”

“Then get coffee or something else from the damn thing.”

“Nah! Milkshakes are a better pick-me-up!” Shitty Hair patted his shoulder, shaking it a bit. A spark of concern shined in his gaze. “And you really need one, man. It’s way too early in the morning to be this grumpy, ‘specially since half of us are still waking up.”

“It’s not _my_ damn fault you got here early.” Katsuki shook his hand off with an eye roll. He then stomped away, barking, “Let’s go. You probably won’t shut up until we get it, anyway.”

He could _hear_ the smile in Kirishima’s voice. “You know me too well, Bakubro!”

Katsuki decided to not respond in any shape or form, instead making his way to that cursed vending machine. It was quiet as they roamed the hallways due to Shitty Hair’s exhaustion, and while he appreciated someone not talking his ears off, Katsuki wanted to be distracted from his traitorous thoughts. Especially since they kept comparing the Todoroki then to the one now who was a completely different person with powers, no memories, no home, a chiseled jaw-

Dammit, Ashido.

“How the hell did you three idiots manage to wake up, anyway?” Katsuki asked just to tame the tornado of thoughts that was starting to give him a fucking headache. “Normally, you jackasses couldn’t be _paid_ to lose any sleep.”

Kirishima chuckled after a loud yawn. “Funnily enough, Kaminari was the first one up! I guess it’s because he didn’t come to work yesterday, but-“

He droned on, and Katsuki focused on his words instead of IcyHot. He would...He would deal with him later, _after_ they found out why Todoroki was in that condition in the first place.

* * *

However, Kirishima shattered that plan to pieces.

“Todoroki’s been awake for a while now! Let’s go introduce ourselves to him!”

And then the two other idiots had to fucking agree. 

“Yeah, definitely!”

“I’m in! Let’s go, Bakugo!”

Katsuki glared at Kaminari, now hating that they had bumped into him and Kirishima during their afternoon patrol. He had been fine with the conversation until Shitty Hair _had_ to open his mouth. Although, Katsuki should’ve guessed this was coming because he’d been shutting down any questions Kirishima had about Todoroki without a second thought. 

“Why do I have to fucking go?” Katsuki snapped, shoving his hands in his pockets. “He already knows who the hell I am.”

Kaminari rolled his eyes. “Well, _duh._ I’m saying to come introduce us!” Katsuki’s glare increased because they can do that shit themselves. And Sparky must’ve understood from his heated gaze, for he grinned. “It’s so we can make a good first impression as your besties! Come _onnn.”_

“Don’t ever say that shit again.”

Kaminari then pulled out the fakest pout Katsuki had ever seen. “We’re not besties? That hurts, Baku!”

Ashido giggled before grabbing Katsuki’s wrist, and Katsuki debated - just for a split second - about walking right out and applying for a job at the nearest diner. There might be rude ass customers, but he wouldn’t have to deal with _this._

“But Midoriya has already gone with Iida and Uraraka!” Ashido pointed that out like it would change his mind. “You don’t want Todoroki to think that you don’t have any friends, do you?”

“I don’t give a shit-” Ashido started to pull, and Katsuki tugged back, barking, “Let _go_ , dammit!”

Sparky joined in, grabbing his other arm. “Nope! It’s decided! You pushing, Kiri?”

“Yep!” Katsuki tensed when a hand clamped down on his shoulder, another touching his back and pushing him forward. He couldn’t _believe_ that this was happening. If it was just Raccoon and Sparky, he could fight them off, but throwing Shitty Hair in was a dealbreaker. Dammit. “You can’t just keep avoiding him, y’know?” Kirishima said with laughter in his tone. 

Katsuki struggled but couldn’t get loose, being forced forward. “I’m not _avoiding_ the bastard!” he snarled through gritted teeth. 

“Uh huh, sure.” Kaminari’s dismissive voice rubbed him in all the wrong ways. “Off we go!”

“I hate all of you.” Katsuki was already planning his revenge on all three of them. 

Ashido and Kaminari sent him identical winks. “Love you too!”

The walk to Todoroki’s chamber took longer than normal because Katsuki refused to willingly walk there, finding joy in how Ashido and Kaminari complained about him being more stubborn than a bull as they pulled. Served them right. 

It was only when they reached where Todoroki was staying that they let him go. Katsuki considered making a break for it, but fuck that. Katsuki Bakugo was _not_ a runner, especially not from some SCP. It didn’t matter what or who the hell it was. 

So, Katsuki crossed his arms and looked as uninterested as humanly possible as Kirishima slid open the metal blocking the window. He expected Todoroki to be sitting on the couch like he always was, but instead, the halfie was on the opposite side of the room, standing in front of a dresser that definitely wasn’t there earlier. It was made out of some kind of metal; Katsuki assumed that it had a ridiculous melting point because it wouldn’t last in there long if it didn’t. 

One of the dresser drawers was open, and Todoroki was holding up two shirts: one white and one black. He was examining them, feeling the fabric. It was about damn time he got some more clothes - that were hopefully fire-proof as well. It wouldn’t make any sense if they weren’t. 

“I say go for the black shirt!” Ashido advised with a wide smile because of _course_ she would. When Todoroki peered over his shoulder at them, hardly surprised to see them there for some reason, she nodded. “Definitely the black one. Makes your eyes and hair pop!”

Katsuki stared at her incredulously. Did she really think that the clashing colors had trouble drawing attention in the first place? Someone could easily point the bastard out in a crowd a mile away. 

Todoroki actually contemplated her words for a moment before donning the black shirt and folding the white one back up, tucking it inside the drawer. He walked over to the window after closing it, and Katsuki noticed that he had new shorts as well. Aizawa must’ve ordered a whole wardrobe.

“Sooo, you probably know why we’re here.” Kaminari grinned when Todoroki stopped at the glass. “We wanna introduce ourselves! I’m Denki Kaminari, one of Baku’s besties!”

Katsuki had the sudden urge to punch something. Or to blow some shit up. Either would do.

Ashido’s giggle only increased the feeling tenfold. “I’m Mina Ashido! Another one of Baku’s besties!”

Katsuki held a tiny ounce of hope that Kirishima wouldn’t follow up behind them, but that hope was violently stomped on when Shitty Hair threw an arm around his shoulders, beaming. “And I’m Ejiro Kirishima! His best bestie! Isn’t that right, Bakubro?”

Katsuki wondered if creating an unsolvable murder was easy. He could probably do it if he had to. Couldn’t be too difficult. 

Todoroki must’ve noticed his molten glare, his clenched jaw, or the murderous intent radiating off of him in waves. Any one of them was a good giveaway. The halfie blinked, head tilted. “Are you sure that you’re all friends with him?”

“Yeah, totally!” Kaminari smiled at Katsuki like he wasn’t in imminent danger this very second. “He gets like this _all_ the time, but he’s not actually angry.” He returned to Todoroki with a shrug. “All bark and no bite, y’know?”

“I’ll show you a fucking _bite-“_

“And you actually do know about that, huh? Or at least, you're supposed to.” Ashido interrupted him like it was nothing. “Because you knew each other in the past, right? According to Midoriya, Katsuki’s been this way all of his life, so you must’ve gotten through his rough and tough exterior to be friends with him!”

“I...assume so,” Todoroki said slowly. His brows were creased pensively, and it was clear that he was trying to think back. The gears wouldn’t turn, however, missing links and screws. “Midoriya told me earlier that we went to a summer camp together, and we had been roommates at the time.”

“You were roommates?” Kaminari asked in surprise. “You didn’t tell us that much, Bakugo!”

Ashido placed a hand over her heart, sympathy lacing her words. “Roommates? Oh you poor soul. Nevermind, it’s probably a good thing that you’ve forgotten.” 

Kirishima chuckled at that - the damned traitor - and Katsuki jerked out of his hold, scowling, “So what?! It doesn’t fucking matter if he was.”

Sparky shook his head. “Nah, it definitely does. Because if someone was your roommate for two months and didn’t want to switch up _immediately,_ they were either insane or had the patience of a saint.” He eyed Todoroki with a smile. “Considering that you were friends with Midoriya too, I doubt you were crazy.”

Katsuki was about to defend himself, saying that he was a decent enough person when he wasn’t around idiots who talked his ear off every single day, but Todoroki raised an interested brow instead. “Is he that bad?”

Ashido gave the halfie an odd look. “He...He choked you out yesterday.”

Todoroki gave a curt shrug. “He thought I had killed someone he had known. It’s a natural reaction.”

Kaminari almost looked awed. “You really _do_ have the patience of a saint.”

Katsuki scoffed at that. It was less patient and more being dense as fuck emotionally wise. It had taken a lot to get that blank, devoid look to crack. But when it did…

He shook his head to clear the memories of slight smiles and quiet chuckles, refusing to pair them with the walking thermostat in front of him. He had to stop doing that shit. Things were different now. Too different.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, pointing out, “So does Shitty Hair. IcyHot’s nothing special.”

Kirishima lit up. “Was that a compliment, Bakubro?”

“Shut the hell up. I take it back.”

Ashido giggled before waving a dismissive hand. “Office-mates and roommates are completely different things. Plus, nothing bothers Kiri, so he doesn’t count.” She clasped her hands together. “But anyway! Todoroki, I’ve been dying to know what kind of skin moisturizer you use because that complexion _can’t_ be natural and I - hm?”

Katsuki thanked whoever was on the other side of her ringing phone, because they didn’t come down here to share _beauty tips._ And Todoroki’s subtle confusion showed that he hadn’t expected it either. 

Ashido checked the caller ID and stiffened. “It’s Aizawa!” she told them, and Katsuki was getting ready to laugh. Whenever Aizawa called their personal phones, not bothering with the overhead speaker, someone fucked up in a way that wasn’t life threatening, but he was usually pissed about it anyway. 

After a moment of hesitation, she answered, “Hey, Boss! What do you…” Her words trailed off and unease flickered across her face. “The bulb is going out? It...It wasn’t like that when we checked on it! Honest!” She flinched. “I mean...it maybe looked _kinda_ dim, but...yes sir.”

Ashido sighed after hanging up. “Come in, Kaminari. We gotta change 205-1’s bulb.”

Kaminari groaned. “Seriously? It didn’t look _that_ dim when we passed by! I _really_ don’t want to go in there.”

Katsuki snorted. “Tough shit. Go do your job.”

“I...think I should go too.” Kirishima volunteered himself. “An extra set of eyes couldn’t hurt, right?” It wouldn’t, especially so those idiots wouldn’t be assaulted by shadow demons. 

“Don’t lose an arm in there,” Katsuki called to them when the trio started jogging away. Ashido stuck a tongue out at him.

Kirishima was waving over his shoulder. “See you know a bit, Bakugo, and it was nice to properly meet ya, Todoroki!”

“Likewise,” Todoroki said, giving a modest wave back. When they fully disappeared, Ashido’s and Kaminari’s complaints fading away, he felt the halfie’s eyes on him and Katsuki wondered why he hadn’t left with them. Because he wasn’t a runner. Right. “Your friends seem nice.”

Katsuki huffed, crossing his arms. He refocused on IcyHot and said, “They’re constant thorns in my damn side, but I _guess_ they have their moments.” Once in a blue moon. Twice in Kirishima’s case. When Todoroki didn’t respond, simply staring with an unreadable look that Katsuki had gotten out of practice in comprehending, he bristled. “If you want to say something, spit it out, bastard.”

“Oh, sorry.” IcyHot at least had the decency to seem the slightest bit apologetic. Though again, the inflection was so subtle that maybe he imagined the sincerity. “I was just wondering if we would have still been friends if I hadn’t disappeared.”

_“Text me when you get home. Or don’t, I don’t give a shit.”_

_“You’re bad at not caring, Katsuki.”_

_“Shut up. Just...Just nothing. Bye, dammit.”_

_“...I’ll try to keep in touch, okay?”_

_“Yeah, sure, whatever. Don’t forget about Deku too because I don’t want him annoying the hell outta me.”_

_“I won’t.”_

Katsuki scowled at the memory, keeping the emotions attached to it buried deep where they belonged. Friends. If Deku was here to answer, he would’ve said no. That they wouldn’t have been just friends. But fuck him. 

“The hell should I know?” Katsuki defensively answered, words sharp. “It didn’t happen. You dropped off the face of the damn earth, and we moved on.” He wondered if Deku was watching this. Katsuki could imagine his annoying expression if he was. “So it’s a waste of time to think about stupid ‘what-ifs’.”

“That’s true,” Todoroki agreed without any issue. He stepped closer to the window, and crystals formed beneath his finger as he absentmindedly drew on the clear pane. “Can you see us becoming friends again now?”

Katsuki glared at him, body tensing and mouth running, “Friends? That’s like a prisoner asking a guard if they could share fucking baking recipes. You’re in a damn _facility,_ or did you forget? Why the hell would you want to be friends with the ones keeping you here?” It didn’t make sense, even with their past. He should pissed that his freedom was taken away, that he would always looking out of this piece of glass-

“Because the only people I do know are here,” Todoroki said nonchalantly, his finger pausing on the window. The crystals had formed a crude crown. Katsuki gritted his teeth, and the halfie noticed. He tilted his head like a damn cat. “I want to get to know you again. Is that so bad?”

“What if I don’t want you to?” Katsuki’s glare sharpened even though he knew that it wouldn’t affect him. “What fucking then?” The numbers on the thermostat rose ten degrees before swiftly dropping back down to room temperature. Katsuki scoffed. “That pissed you off, huh?”

Todoroki dropped his finger, glancing away. “Look, I’m…” A small sigh. “I’m frustrated about this too. I’m missing many memories of a life before this-“ Crystals fanned out along the glass as he met Katsuki’s gaze. “-and I know that my disappearance wasn’t easy on you or Midoriya. We’re all affected by the situation here. I want answers as much as you do.” Beads of water trailed down when the ice melted. “We shouldn’t be enemies.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him, refusing to look away from that steady mismatched gaze. “Oh _now_ you want answers? Didn’t you say earlier that you didn’t care what the hell happened? Because it wouldn’t change anything?”

“That was before I realized how much it upset you,” Todoroki blatantly said like Katsuki wasn’t a complete stranger to him under these circumstances. “Now I need to know.”

“I’m not _upset_ , asshole! How many times do I have to tell you that?” Todoroki simply hummed at his outburst, and Katsuki glowered. “You’re so damn annoying. So you want to know for fucking _us_ and not because your family is _dead_?”

Something shifted in IcyHot’s eyes. They were a bit more distant. “It would be nice to figure out what happened to them as well.” There was an unheard ‘but’ at the end; Katsuki’s frown deepened but he didn’t care enough to ask. Especially with the risk of another breakdown. Todoroki blinked, and the look was gone. “You still haven’t answered my question from earlier.”

“What stupid quest-" Katsuki threw his hands up in exasperation when he remembered, realizing that the bastard’s stubbornness hadn’t changed at all since the camp. “Fine, _fine,_ dammit! I don’t care! You want to be friends _that_ fucking bad?!”

“Yes,” Todoroki softly said, and Katsuki didn’t miss how the corners of his lips curled up ever so slightly. Katsuki cursed to himself as the halfie continued, “That was actually easier than I thought it would be. Midoriya said I would have to wear you down a bit more.”

Katsuki saw red. “Deku said _what?”_ He turned on his heel, for some reason being able to breathe a little easier. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Don’t. He’s my friend.”

“Not for long.” 

Katsuki shut the window before Todoroki could replay and marched away, not sure if he was actually going to hunt down Deku, go see if Aizawa had dug up some dirt, or go busy himself with _anything_ else to wash the image of that smile out of his mind. 

_“Here.”_

_“Cake?”_

_“Yeah, they passed it out after you left. You would’ve seen if you hadn't eaten in here like a weirdo. Had to snag it before a councilor looked.”_

_“Eating in the room isn't weird, and you didn’t have to get me that.”_

_“Well asshole, if you don’t want it, then-“_

_“No, I...I want it.”_

_"It's strawberry. Your favorite, right?"_

_"It is." Shoto gave the slightest of smiles, something that could be due to a trick of the light. “Thank you.”_

_“W-Whatever. Don’t make a damn mess.”_

Katsuki took a deep breath, shaking his head. 

A distraction it was. 

* * *

**_Item #:_ ** _SCP-3212_

 **_Addendum:_ ** _Due to SCP-3212’s docile nature, a dresser made up of various metals with high melting points has been placed into his chamber. Its dimensions are 152cm x 51cm x 76cm (60 in x 20 in x 30 in), and it contains articles of clothing consisting of fire-resistant materials such as Kevlar and specialty wool. It has been communicated that purposefully melting and/or burning the new addition would result in the retraction of the dresser and clothing._

_SCP-3212’s identity has been identified. SCP-3212 is actually the once late Shoto Todoroki, the youngest member of the Todoroki family. He had been announced dead after a house fire, along with three other siblings, his mother Rei Todoroki, and his father Enji-_

Fingers stopped, flexed. Backspaced and deleted.

_SCP-3212’s identity has been identified. SCP-3212 is actually the once late Shoto Todoroki, the youngest member of the Todoroki family. He had been announced dead-_

A foot tapped against the floor. Tired eyes stared. Backspaced and deleted. 

_SCP-3212’s identity has been identified-_

Backspaced and deleted.

_There is no concrete evidence of SCP-3212’s identity as of yet. It is nothing but speculation._

Aizawa leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and released his biggest sigh to date. 

“Enji Todoroki...what in the hell did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCP-294 aka the 'Coffee Machine'. SCP-294 is a standard sized vending machine with a keyboard. After inputting fifty cents, any liquid the buyer requests using the keyboard will be dispensed. Some examples include: coffee, gasoline, liquid gold, and blood.
> 
> SCP-205 aka the 'Shadow Lamps'. SCP-205 consists of two flood lamps: 205-1 and 205-2. These two lamps create shadows on any white surface, playing out the murder of a shadow woman by multiple horned shadow demons. Whenever a bulb blows or the reenactment is disrupted by an outside force, it is extremely unsafe to enter the room SCP-205 is housed in. The unseen demons will attack whoever steps inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the wait! Here's the next chapter!

When a screeching alarm violently woke Katsuki up from his sleep, he already knew then and there that today was going to be absolutely shitty. 

He threw the bed’s blankets off of him, spouting every curse under the sun and wondering what the hell had the  _ audacity  _ to set off the fire alarm this early in the damn morning. Stomping out of his room, the smell of burning food slapped him more awake. He quickened his pace because someone  _ had  _ to have broken into the apartment and for some damn reason tried - and failed - to cook. It had to be some deranged robber, for there was no way in hell that Deku  _ willingly  _ turned on a stove. 

When he reached the kitchen, he was proved wrong. 

“K-Kacchan!” Deku was indeed in the middle of the kitchen, standing on a chair and frantically waving a paper plate under the screaming fire alarm. Smoke lingered in the air, rising from a pan on the stove holding eggs that were burnt as  hell.  “Can you open the window? We gotta-“

“Deku, how the  _ fuck.” _

“I-I’ll explain later! Get the window before people get concerned!”

Katsuki didn’t give a damn about other people, especially not at six-thirty in the fucking morning. He did care about the state of his ringing ears though, so he continued to stomp over to the window, sliding it open and feeling cooler air hit his face. He caught a glimpse of the dark, low hanging clouds in the sky, and yes, today was  _ absolutely  _ going to be shitty. 

Smoke leaked out, but apparently not fast enough because the alarm was still blaring and giving him a damn headache. Katsuki gritted his teeth and marched over to the pan that caused this mess. There was an attempt to make scrambled eggs, but the clumps were runny and charred to hell and back. If this wasn’t a wake-up call for Deku to learn how to cook, he didn’t know  _ what  _ fucking was. 

Katsuki waved a hand through the rising smoke and moved the food over to a cooler eye on the stove. Deku had been smart enough to cut the thing off -  _ something  _ had clicked in that dumb brain of his - but was stupid enough to leave the pan on a still hot surface. 

“I’m really sorry, Kacchan!”

“Stop talking and keep fanning, idiot!” Katsuki barked at him as the smoke from the eggs steadily deceased, hating that the smell of burnt food was going to linger for who _knew_ how long. 

Deku thankfully said nothing else, focusing on quieting the damn alarm, and Katsuki went back over to the window to help wave out the smoke. After what seemed like an eternity, the blaring beeps cut off, and Katsuki’s ears weren’t being attacked anymore. He left the window open so all of the smoke could filter out. Then, he turned around and threw Deku a glare that matched the heat of a nuclear fallout.

Deku flinched as he climbed off the chair. “Sorry again, Kacchan…” He wrung his fingers together. “I just wanted to try cooking, you know? And I thought that nothing could be easier than eggs! Turns out, I was wrong…”

“No, you  _ weren’t  _ fucking wrong,” Katsuki spat, already missing his sleep. However, there was no point in going back to bed because his alarm was set to go off in fifteen minutes. “Eggs are easy as shit, but of  _ course _ you find some damn way to mess that up.” He returned to the stove, glowering down at the charred eggs as he dumped them into the trash can. “Why the hell didn’t you wait until I  _ wasn’t  _ asleep to fuck up?”

Deku could’ve experimented after work where Katsuki could fix any mistake he inevitably made, but  _ no.  _ The nerd wanted to be a dumbass.

Deku sighed. “I wasn’t planning on setting off the alarm, Kacchan…” He glanced around at the remnants of smoke that was taking its sweet time to dissipate. “And I did it now because, well, I thought that Todoroki might be tired of having toast for breakfast, so-”

“Hah?” That was the last thing Katsuki expected to hear. “This was for fucking  _ IcyHot? _ ” His apartment nearly got burned down because of that bastard, and the halfie wasn’t even here _. _

Deku nodded like that was no issue whatsoever. “Yeah! Everyone should have a little variety in their breakfast-“

Katsuki grabbed a fork and scrapped it against the metal to pry off some stubborn chunks, causing Deku to cringe. Good. “ _ Variety.”  _ He scoffed. “Haven’t heard him fucking complaining about it.”

“Does Todoroki  _ ever _ complain about anything?”

Touché. 

“Well, he sure as hell would’ve complained about the shit you tried to give him.” Katsuki dumped the pan in the sink, running water over it. Those charred marks were never going to come out. “The bastard barely likes scrambled eggs, burnt to hell or otherwise.”

Deku tilted his head, brows ceasing together. “Really? He doesn’t like them?”

“Always avoided them like the plague at the camp.” Katsuki remembered that because one time Todoroki had come down with a bad cold, and out of the kindness of his heart, he had brought breakfast to him in the cabin. Todoroki ate everything but the scrambled eggs. Ungrateful fucker. 

“Huh…” Deku cradled his chin, and Katsuki  _ really _ wished that he was still asleep. “I swear I remember seeing him eating eggs though…”

Katsuki went over to the fridge, opening it to find what he could whip up for himself. “He just hated them scrambled, the picky asshole. Even back then he acted like a damn five-year-old.”

“So, he just doesn’t like those kinds of eggs?” Deku then gasped too excitedly for this early in the morning, and Katsuki scowled at the carton of eggs in the fridge like this was all their fault. In a way, it was. “Oh! Then you should make him an omelette instead, Kacchan!”

Katsuki glared over at his dumb smile. “ _ Fuck  _ those eggs, and fuck no.”

Deku’s smile didn’t disappear like he thought it would. “Why not? You make the best omelettes, and now you have plenty of time to make them!”

Katsuki glared harder because he didn’t appreciate his cheeky tone. 

He got the smile to wane somewhat. “Come on, Kacchan. At least do it to make it up for Todoroki, okay? He’s been asking about you because you've been avoiding him for days now-”

“I haven’t been avoiding shit.”

“-and don’t you want him to know how amazing you are as a cook?”

Katsuki scoffed. “I don’t have to prove anything to him.”

Deku sighed, his smile fully fading away now. Emotions were swirling in those big-ass eyes of his. “Please? Think of what Todoroki has been through, doesn’t he at least deserve a little surprise for his breakfast? Something to make his day a little better?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “He hasn’t said anything about being stuck in the chamber, but...if I was in his place, I know it would be getting to me, at least a little bit. So-“

Urgent knocking interrupted his plea, and both of them looked in the direction of the front door. 

“Must be the apartment manager…” Deku muttered, slightly nervous. “Do you think he’ll be mad?”

“What do you think?” Katsuki glared at the eggs before grabbing them - telling himself that he was  _ only  _ doing this so the bastard would owe him something later. Todoroki couldn’t do much inside that chamber, but Katsuki would think of something. “You almost burned down the fucking building.”

“But there wasn’t any fire-!” Deku pouted before running for the door when there was another round of knocking, louder this time. “Coming!”

Katsuki grumbled as he prepared another pan. IcyHot  _ better _ appreciate this, dammit.

* * *

Despite the facility’s thick walls, Katsuki still heard roaring thunder overhead as he trudged towards IcyHot’s room. He scowled the whole way, hating how it decided to pour down raining the  _ moment _ he stepped foot in the parking lot, hating how his wet shirt stuck uncomfortably to his skin, and hating how this damn suit made the chaffing even  wors e.

And to top it all off, Aizawa still didn’t have a  _ damn _ clue about IcyHot’s past. 

Thunder rumbled again, and walls shook this time.

“Shut up!” Katsuki yelled as he approached Todoroki’s chamber, and  _ no,  _ he wasn’t crazy for yelling at the raging storm. He was pissed off and still fucking tired as hell.

“...Bakugo?” a voice called from within the chamber, barely loud enough to be heard.

Katsuki glowered when he got to the entrance to the temperature lock. “You shut up too!” Anything Todoroki might’ve said was then drowned out by decompressing gas and sliding doors. When Katsuki exited the small room into the bigger chamber, Todoroki was sitting on his lone couch. He had an extreme case of bed head, red and white hairs sticking out all over the place. “And just when I thought your hair couldn’t get any more shitty.”

Todoroki combed his fingers through his messy fringe but didn’t otherwise respond to the jab, instead focusing on what Katsuki had in his hand. His eyes widened slightly. “Is that my breakfast?”

Of course he would ask such a dumbass question. Katsuki wasn’t bringing the omelette in here for show and tell. “What else could it be?” he said as he stomped over with a scowl. “Don’t be a damn idiot.”

Again, Todoroki wasn’t bothered. “It smells good,” he uttered, reaching for the plate and cup of water when Katsuki got close enough. He then picked up the plastic fork and poked at the fluffy egg. “Did you make this?”

Katsuki scoffed, eyeing the stack of books and magazines resting on top of the dresser against the wall. Aizawa must’ve brought him those at some point to keep him occupied. “Yeah, but just because Deku fucking begged me with those big eyes and shit. Having him as a roommate is annoying.” He watched as Todoroki cut a slice, revealing the cheese and cubed ham inside. “You owe me for that, IcyHot. Don’t do shit for free.”

Todoroki hummed in response, too focused on tasting the omelette to be concerned with Katsuki’s demand. He chewed and swallowed before saying, “This is really good.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Of course it fucking is. I made it.”

IcyHot coughed when he took another bite, sipping some water afterwards. “It’s spicy.”

With a sharp grin, Katsuki jeered, “What, can’t handle it? I barely put anything in there.” If the omelette was too spicy for him, then he had less of a tolerance than fucking Deku. And that was saying a  _ lot.  _

“I never said that.” Todoroki shook his head before continuing to eat. “I just didn’t expect it. It’s better with the spice, actually.”

_ Finally  _ there was someone who saw it his way - all of his friends were weaklings who couldn’t handle the heat. “Whatever,” Katsuki disregarded the compliment, though. “Don’t forget that this was a one time thing. I already have to cook for damn Deku.”

Todoroki blinked up at him. “Midoriya can’t cook?”

“He almost burned down our apartment trying to make you scrambled eggs.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,  _ oh.” _ Katsuki was about to walk off and let Todoroki enjoy his once in a lifetime breakfast, but curiosity made him pause. He frowned at the halfie, raising a brow. “Can  _ you  _ even cook?” He doubted Todoroki had any time to learn while he was...doing whatever he was doing this past decade. 

Todoroki gave a half-hearted shrug. “I know the basics. Taught myself recently when I moved into the cabin.”

“Recently?” Katsuki looked IcyHot up and down. He didn’t know how long ‘recently’ meant, but if Todoroki had been skulking around city after city, his condition surely didn’t hint at any malnutrition. Unless that was another perk of being a damn SCP. “And before then? You dig through trash or some shit?”

He didn’t expect the slightly puzzled look that came next. “No,” Todoroki said slowly like  _ he _ was missing something here. “I bought food.” Katsuki narrowed his eyes because this shit wasn’t adding up. And the halfie must’ve thought the same because he added, “I had money, if that’s what you’re hung up on.”

“Well  _ excuse  _ the fuck out of me to think that a drifter who didn’t trust anyone couldn’t have a damn job.”

“I never worked.” Todoroki chewed and swallowed, unaffected by Katsuki’s heated glare that hid his confusion. “When I woke up in the yard, there were three wallets beside me, filled with money.”

Katsuki slowly blinked because what the  _ shit. _ Why the hell didn’t he mention this before? “How much?”

IcyHot shrugged again, and Katsuki was starting to get pissed about how nonchalant he was being. “I’m not sure, but I’ve only gone through one of them until now.”

“And you didn’t question where they came from?”

“Why would I?”

_ Why in the hell wouldn’t you?  _ Katsuki almost yelled, but he reeled himself back in. He knew that the Todoroki family - at least the parents - were successful financially, so that wasn’t the problem here. Who the hell left that? The same person who wrote the message? 

Knowing that Aizawa was probably watching this, he asked, “Where in the hell are those wallets now? They weren’t in that cave you were found in.” Maybe the wallets held  _ some  _ sort of damn answer to this.

Todoroki thought for a moment. “They still should be at the cabin.” He took another bite of the omelette, coughing a bit and muttering, “Along with food in the ice box that’s probably spoiled…”

“Where’s the cabin?”

Comprehension flooded IcyHot’s eyes when he finally caught on to what Katsuki was getting at. “There’s nothing in the wallets besides the money, but-“ Todoroki paused to think. “It goes against your protocol, but it’ll be easier to take you there than to just tell you.”

Katsuki scoffed. “That’s the most half-assed escape attempt I’ve ever heard.”

Todoroki poked at the omelette, but didn’t eat another piece. “I’m not planning to escape.” His tone was on the way to being annoyed. “Remember what I said about being enemies?”

“A lot of freaks say a lot of damn things in this place,” was Katsuki’s knee-jerk response, and he instantly regretted it when Todoroki averted his gaze, the grip on his fork tensing. Silence reigned, awkward and smothering, and Katsuki cursed under his breath before opening his mouth to form  _ some _ sort of apology. 

He didn’t get to, however, for there was a deafening crack, darkness blanketing them soon after. 

“Shit!” Katsuki yelled, his voice barely heard over the roaring thunder. He tried and failed to squint through the black nothingness, his traitorous heart thudding against his rib cage. There was nothing to be scared about, dammit. Lightning must’ve fucked up the main power supply, so the backup generator should kick in any second now-

And like he expected, the darkness was instantly chased away by blinding lights. Katsuki blinked at the sudden burn in his eyes as they readjusted. He immediately focused on Todoroki, who was frowning up at the ceiling in slight concern, omelette forgotten at this point. Katsuki then scanned the room to make sure nothing was amiss. Nothing had changed, the ventilation was still blowing over head, there was no drastic temperature fluctuations that he could feel in his suit, the door to the chamber was open like it should be-

Katsuki froze, his damn heart beating even faster at the sight of the clear and  _ unblocked _ exit of the chamber. Many scenarios ran rampant in his mind right now, none of them being good. “Shit, shit,  _ shit!” _

“Bakugo?”

“Hush!” He told Todoroki, hastily going to stand between the halfie and the open door. Leveling Todoroki the meanest glare he could muster, he pointed at the bastard and ordered, “Do  _ not _ move from that damn couch or I swear-“

Todoroki had the nerve to cut him off, shaking his head. “I’m not going anywhere.” He placed the plate beside him on the couch, frowning at the door. “But what about the other SCPs? Are they loose now?”

“The hell should I know?” Katsuki gritted his teeth as he glanced up to the camera in the room. The usual red light that shined was off. Was the surveillance system down too? And what about the intercom? Aizawa should be shouting breach protocol, but the air was quiet. Too fucking quiet. 

Katsuki took a deep breath. He couldn’t get too frazzled over this. He had to keep a level head. He didn’t know the extent of everything, and he wasn’t scared of the fuckers in the first place, so-

His train of thought was shattered when a high-pitched ringing pierced the silence. Katsuki dug into his suit’s pocket and pulled out his phone. The special gloves he had on made it possible to unlock and answer it, putting the caller - Aizawa - on speaker.

_ “Bakugo, are you alright?” _

“I’m fucking fine.” Katsuki glanced back at the open door before staring down Todoroki again, who was now listening to the conversation as well. “What’s the situation?”

_ “Lightning strike. The power went out in Wing B Section 2 only for a moment, but the cameras and intercom remain down.”  _ Katsuki marginally relaxed at that. The section he was in only housed SCPs in the ‘safe’ object class, except for Todoroki. He didn’t have to worry about any assholes roaming the halls. “ _ Kaminari and Iida are working to fix it now. Is there anything else we need to worry about?” _

“Tell them to fix it fast.” Alert eyes found the door again. “Because everything else seems to be working fine except for the goddamn doors. The one to IcyHot’s chamber is wide open.”

_ “Shit.” _ Aizawa rarely cursed, but now was a damn good time to. Yeah, Todoroki was  _ Todoroki, _ and he hadn’t done anything, but it was better safe than a damn icicle.  _ “Are you still with him?” _

“His ass is glued to the couch.”

_ “Stay where you are.” _

“Yeah, I’m keeping my eye on him-“

_ “That, and so you don’t accidentally run into SCP-173.” _

Katsuki stiffened, glaring down at the phone in his hand. “That concrete fucker?! Why the hell would  _ that  _ thing be out? It’s in an adjacent sector-!”

_ “There had been some electrical issues with its chamber in the past, so it had been rewired to connect with B2. You were told this.” _

Well, Katsuki  _ didn’t  _ think it was important information to remember until now. He took a few steps away from the open door, mentally picturing a map of the sector and lowering his voice, “What so I do? I need two more people to lock that fucker back up.” Taking on that thing alone would be suicide, even he knew that. One blink and he would be dead. 

_ “The rest of the group are on their way. I ordered the Class C personnel to clear the area. We need an airtight strategy for this especially since the cameras are down.” _

_ And so there would be a lowered chance of casualties,  _ Katsuki mentally added, quelling his hammering heart as more thunder roared. He saw Todoroki aim his concerned frown at him out of the corner of his eye, and Katsuki responded with a scowl before asking Aizawa, “And what if IcyHot decides to run?”

_ “I doubt he will,”  _ Aizawa easily answered, his voice regaining its calm composure.  _ “Is he listening?” _

Katsuki gave the halfie a pointed look, and Todoroki spoke up. “Yes, I’m listening. A concrete SCP walking around?”

_ “Yes. It can only move if it’s out of someone’s line of sight. Its preferred method to kill is snapping the base of a person’s neck.”  _ Todoroki’s brows furrowed, and his frown deepened. His worried glance at Katsuki wasn’t subtle nor appreciated.  _ “Keep your eyes on it if it gets to you before the others do.” _

Todoroki nodded once the information sunk in. “Yeah, okay.” He thought for a moment before asking, “Can it break down walls?”

Katsuki blinked. “The hell kind of question is that?”

_ “No, not metallic ones at least. Why?” _

Todoroki stood up instead of replying, and Katsuki began to reach around for the gun holstered in his hip. “The hell you’re doing, IcyHot?! Sit the fuck back down!”

“I will in a second,” Todoroki said as he strolled past Katsuki. Katsuki cursed, conflicted for a split second as the halfie strolled towards the exit, about to  _ escape.  _ Or so he thought, because then Todoroki stopped right at the threshold, eyeing the metal doorframe. 

“What are you-“

Katsuki didn’t get the question out, for Todoroki then took a step back and sliced his right arm through the air, a thick jagged wall of ice following the movement. Katsuki shuffled slightly backwards, watching the translucent structure glint under the artificial light. It’s massive size completely covered the opening and reached the ceiling. 

Todoroki exhaled as he dropped his arm, his misty breath dissipating into the air. He turned toward Katsuki, looking him over. “You’re not too cold, are you?”

Katsuki barely processed the question. He knew that IcyHot could control the temperature and make small blocks of ice, but he could do shit like this too? What  _ exactly  _ was he capable of…?

When the words finally registered, Katsuki growled, “How in the hell would I be too cold, idiot? I got this damn suit on-“

_ “What did he do?” _

“He created a big ass wall of ice to keep that concrete piece of shit out,” he said to Aizawa as Todoroki made his way back to the couch, sitting down and picking up his omelette again. His eyes never left the door, though. “So, I’m trapped in here until the problem is taken care of.”

_ “No extreme temperature shifts?”  _

“No. I’m guessing it’s just cold enough to keep the shit from melting.”

_ “Okay, then sit tight. I’m about to talk to Midoriya on another phone, but I will still be able to hear you if you need me.” _

Katsuki simply grunted, lowering the phone and crowned today the king of shitty days. He blamed Deku for this. If he hadn’t given in and made the omelette, he wouldn’t be stuck in here instead of hunting down that glorified statue. As for the storm, he blamed Deku for that too just because he could. 

Everything went quiet again. Katsuki could still hear Aizawa on the phone, but his voice was soft and muffled as he talked with the rest. Katsuki clenched his fingers around the phone and glared at the glittering ice before sitting down on the couch as well, putting as much space between himself and Todoroki as he could. 

Mismatched eyes flickered over to him but didn’t linger, eyeing the door once more. “Does it make any sound when it moves?” he asked between bites.

Katsuki recalled all of the times he checked up on the freak. “Quiet as hell.” He adjusted in his uncomfortable suit. “Wouldn’t be able to know if it was right fucking behind you.”

Todoroki slowed his chewing. “Will the others be alright?”

Katsuki glared at the space where the window should’ve been, hating that he didn’t open it earlier. “They better fucking be. It’s not like they're dealing with 106 or 939.”

IcyHot rose a curious brow at him.

Katsuki grinned. “An old bastard who drags you into a handmade hell and a pack of dog shits that’ll rip your throat out the first chance they get.”

“...ah.”

“Scared?” Katsuki barked out a jeering laugh. “Well, don’t fucking worry. SCPs don’t give a damn about each other.”

There was that look again, the one that made Katsuki want to bite his tongue, but before He could dwell on it too much, a loud  _ crack _ grabbed their attention. Katsuki narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward, not surprised at all to see that concrete SCP plastered against the other side of the ice. That fucker was fast when there were no eyes on it. 

Even though the ice wasn’t completely clear, he could still see how grotesque that thing’s face was. It was cracked with permanent dried blood splattered all over, its painted green eyes were barely distinguishable from all of the red covering it. There was a large split in the ice right where its head was. Well, that was until the crack began to heal on its own, quickly smoothening over like it hadn’t been there to begin with. 

Katsuki’s focus flickered to Todoroki. He was staring the SCP down, his plate laying in his lap, mostly empty. Katsuki could feel tiny hints of chill seeping through his suit. How low was the halfie dropping the temperature?

“Are you sure that they don’t go after other SCPs?” Todoroki asked, voice low and controlled. “It’s looking right at me.”

“That’s because you’re sitting in  _ front _ of me, dumbass!” Katsuki snapped before raising his phone and speaking, “Aizawa, it’s here.”

The response was immediate.  _ “The team is nearly there.” _

“They need to hurry the hell up,” Katsuki muttered before watching the SCP again. It was still as a statue - expectedly - watching them from beyond the ice. Creepy bastard. “Stop making it so cold, dammit,” he hissed at IcyHot. If he could start to feel the chill, then it wouldn’t be safe for the others to come close. 

“Sorry.” Todoroki didn’t sound apologetic at all, but the cold began to creep away. “I just don't want it to break through.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “It’s  _ not _ going to break through if we’re freaking watching it. Weren’t you  _ listening  _ to Aizawa?”

“I was, but you can’t blame me for feeling a bit on edge.”

“Whatever,” Katsuki huffed, tapping his foot on the ground as the staredown continued. After a few seconds, he nearly jumped out of his skin when 173 slammed into the ice again, creating a few more cracks. He and Todoroki must’ve blinked at the same time.

IcyHot's body was stiff as he reassured, “It won’t break through.” The cracks healed themselves again. 

“I’m not fucking worried, halfie,” Katsuki said because he  _ wasn’t.  _ Not with a damn mountain of ice separating them from the thing. “I  _ do _ work here. Seen some shit.”

Todoroki hummed but didn’t say anything else. Rumbling thunder filled the silence until Katsuki heard voices outside of the chamber, getting closer and closer until:

“Kacchan!”

“Bakubro!”

“You’re still alive, right?!”

“Of course I am, dumbasses!” Katsuki barked back as the window in the room slid open, revealing the rest of his coworkers and their worried faces. He glared at him. “I’m not the one you should be focusing on!” He gestured to 173, who hadn't moved. “Get that fucker!”

Eyes shifted to where he was pointing, and all of them widened. Ashido gaped. “Wow...when Aizawa said there was ice, I didn’t expect  _ that _ much…”

“You did all of  _ that,  _ Todoroki bro?!” Kirishima gushed while Deku began to mutter under his breath at the sight. 

Uraraka, the only one with a single brain cell in that damn group, ignored the ice and said, “Well, it should know that we’re here now, so all we need to do is look away from it, and it should start following us! Right?”

“It should…” Deku hesitantly agreed after finishing his damn analysis. He tore his gaze from the ice, onto Katsuki and Todoroki. “So, we all need to look away from it for a split second. It should back away from the door and start to follow us.”

Kirishima nodded. “Yeah, okay, everybody look away…now!”

Katsuki continued to stare at them as they all started back. Todoroki’s head didn’t move, but he must’ve closed his eyes or something because there was another slam against the ice. 

He whirled his head around, glowering at the SCP. “The hell are you doing?! Follow  _ them!”  _ Understandably, 173 didn’t make a sound in response, silently looking and being an asshole.

“Maybe it’s because it’s closer to you than us?” Ashido suggested before nudging Kirishima. “You, Midoriya, and Uraraka get closer to it! Then we can try to get it to move!”

The boys nodded while Uraraka shot her a knowing look. “Uh huh, and what about you?”

Ashido grinned. “I’m keeping watch!  _ Someone _ has to get out alive to tell the tale, y’know?”

To this day, Katsuki didn’t know why Aizawa hired any of them. 

The three left the view of the window, and Katsuki went back to glowering at the statue. Voices floated closer to where the SCP was before stopping at a distance that was still considered safe. 

Deku then yelled out, “Let’s try again! Everyone look away in three...two...one!”

Katsuki closed his eyes this time and wanted to pull his hair out when he heard the same  _ slam _ as before. 

“Seriously?!” Ashido complained, pressing closer to the window. “It’s still not moving?”

With a growl, Katsuki stood from the couch and wished that he could disintegrate that concrete asshole with his heated stare alone. “Just  _ move  _ already, dammit!” He began to stalk closer to it. “If you don’t move your sorry ass, then-“ He was jerked to a stop when Todoroki grabbed the material of his suit. “Let go of me, IcyHot!”

“I don’t want you to get closer to that thing while angry,” Todoroki said, like he had  _ any _ authority to tell Katsuki what to do. He was about to yank out of his grip, but then the halfie glanced up at him. “I...have an idea that might work. It includes letting me out of here, though.”

Katsuki scoffed. “If you really think that Aizawa will-“

_ “Let’s hear him out.” _

“Hah?!” Katsuki held the phone back up, unsure if he heard that correctly. There was no way Mr. Protocol himself was considering this. 

_ “We have to return 173 to its chamber in any way possible. Todoroki, what’s your plan?” _

IcyHot seemed taken aback that Aizawa would listen so readily as well, but he rolled with it and said, “I could encase it with ice and push it back to its room. It shouldn’t be able to break through as long as I’m nearby.”

_ “Hm.” _

“I think it’s a sound plan!” Deku said, back at the window with Kirishima and Uraraka. Ashido was holding her phone up between them. Aizawa must be talking on speaker for both phones. “I don’t think it’s going to move otherwise…”

_ “I’m going to ask you all a question,”  _ Aizawa uttered, and Katsuki frowned, not knowing where this was going.  _ “Putting the soundness of the plan aside, do you trust him to do this?” _

“Trust?” Shitty Hair repeated before smiling widely. “‘Course I trust him! And I mean, if he wanted to escape, he could’ve done it easily, y’know?”

“I trust him too!” Uraraka matched his smile. Ashido and Deku parroted her, both beaming at IcyHot, whose expression had softened at their words. Then, those mismatched eyes found Katsuki’s, silently inquiring, and he felt something twist within at the open and slightly vulnerable look.

Katsuki pointedly glanced away and huffed. Kirishima was right. IcyHot could’ve powered through and  _ easily  _ blocked any attempt to take him down with that damn ice. But no, he was still here and staring at him, waiting for Katsuki’s answer like it was the most important thing in the world. 

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” he gruffly admitted. “I trust the bastard.”

Katsuki ignored the tiniest of smiles that adorned Todoroki’s face. 

_ “Then it’s settled. Get to it.” _

Todoroki nodded before letting Katsuki go and standing up. Katsuki watched aptly as he strolled over to the wall of ice and placed a hand against the chilled crystals. A sound similar to cracking and splitting glass filled the air as ice grew from the wall, swiftly surrounding 173’s body with no trouble. The SCP simply stared back. 

When that was done, the halfie then raised his left hand, and his palm sizzled when it made contact with the ice wall. Thunder boomed, and water flowed in rivets to the floor as the hand roamed, the crystals dwindling until a small mound remained, short enough to step over. 

Todoroki did so. SCP-173 was still trapped. Todoroki eyed it, his attention dropping to the ground beneath the freak’s feet. IcyHot’s right foot twitched forward, and 173 was raised off the ground by a thick slab of ice. He stared at the bottom for a few seconds before placing both hands on the encased SCP and pushing. 173 slid backwards a bit, and everyone at the window started cheering. 

“You did it, Todoroki!”

“That’s  _ awesome!” _

“It’s not back in its room yet,” Todoroki weakly argued, though there were hints of satisfaction in his tone. He looked over his shoulder at Katsuki and asked, “It’s heavier than it looks. Can you help me push?”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. “Can’t you do it by yourself with your ice powers and shit?”

“I could, but I don’t want to leave behind a bigger mess than I already am.” Todoroki glanced between him and 173, pondering something. “If you’re nervous about being to so close to it, then-“

“I’m not nervous. Fuck off.” Katsuki marched over, telling Aizawa that he was hanging up before dropping the phone into his pocket. He glared right at the concrete asshole to simply prove a point, pressing his gloved hands against the ice. His fingers were protected from the chill. “Let’s go.”

Todoroki nodded, and they pushed together, the ice gliding smoothly along the floor. Katsuki gritted his teeth when they turned the corner out of the smaller airlock - because the freak  _ was _ heavy as hell - and was met with victorious smiles...for about two seconds before the trembling started.

“Ah! S-So cold!” Ashido took a few steps back along with Uraraka, teeth chattering. “It’s like I stepped into a freezer!”

“The hell did you expect?” Katsuki asked, knocking twice on the chunk of occupied ice. 

“I need to keep it cooler to keep the ice solid.” Todoroki’s voice was soft and apologetic. “I’ll try to contain the cold so it only surrounds Bakugo and me. You should be fine if you follow at a bit of a distance.”

Deku blinked in awe. “Contain the…? Do you mean that you can control how far your temperatures reach? Like covering only yourself or spanning an entire stadium?”

“I’m not sure about an entire stadium, but sure.”

“Shit dude...you’re like a superhero!” Shorty Hair gushed, and Katsuki wanted to gag as he and IcyHot continued to push away from the empty chamber. “All the stuff you can do is so manly!”

Katsuki scoffed as they slowly to surely made it down the hallway. “That’s not the word I’d use,” he muttered as the rest of the idiots continued to talk at a distance behind them.

Todoroki slightly turned his head towards him but kept his eyes on the staring statue. “What word would you use?”

“Fucking weird,” Katsuki answered truthfully, and Todoroki nodded after a moment of deliberation. Leagues better than that damn  _ look _ from earlier. Despite that, Katsuki had the urge to add, “But it helped with this jackass, so it’s useful I guess.”

Todoroki glanced at him then, and Katsuki made sure that his full focus was on the frozen SCP, not on those studying eyes. That hadn’t changed all these years. Sometimes, Todoroki had just  _ looked _ . At the glistening lake water, at birds chirping overhead, or at  _ him.  _ And the weight of the stare was made heavier by how those soft brown irises were changed to a piercing turquoise and grey. 

“Thank you for trusting me,” IcyHot eventually said, words quiet as a whisper, and Katsuki hated how a subtle warmth blossomed in his cheeks.

He turned his head, scowling at an open door they were passing. “There’s nothing to thank me for, dumbass. It was either do that or let this fucker run loose.”

“I still appreciate it.”

“Just shut up and push.”

Todoroki listened. He didn’t talk anymore as they went, seemingly satisfied with listening to the conversations going on behind them and taking in his surroundings. Katsuki glimpsed into every open door they passed, looking for anything amiss. The SCPs in those rooms weren’t capable of movement, but it never hurt to check. Sparky and Glasses better fix this mess soon.

After roughly ten minutes of turning, pushing, and nearly slipping on the wet trail the damn ice left behind, they finally reached a bigger corridor that housed the chamber for SCP-173. Its double doors were wide open, showing off the barren metallic room it had the  _ nerve _ to escape from.

Katsuki didn’t pause for a second, continuing to push until there was a whirring sound in the air. He blinked in surprise when the double doors snapped shut with an echoing clang. 

Uraraka cheered behind them. “Kaminari and Iida did it!”

“About fucking time,” Katsuki said as Aizawa’s omnipresent voice sounded overhead.

_ “The electricity in B2 has been completely restored, including the mechanisms of the doors, cameras, and the intercommunication system. Everything should be functional. SCP-173 is seconds away from being re-contained. Affected Class C personnel to return to your designated stations.” _

Ashido approached the controls for the doors, tapping a few buttons on the panel. They slid back open normally, and she sighed in relief. “I really appreciate it if we never have to do this again.”

“We?” Katsuki grunted as he and IcyHot resumed pushing. “ _ You _ didn’t do anything!”

“I was moral support!” She chirped with a too-wide grin. 

“Moral support my  _ ass.” _

Ashido wasn’t deterred in the slightest, instead looking very proud of herself. 

Katsuki muttered derisively to himself, arms starting to complain as they pushed the statue into the room. Katsuki kept at it until 173 was pressed up against the far wall. He then gave the frozen freak one last glare and marched back out of the room with Todoroki on his heels. 

When the doors shut behind them, Kirishima whooped, fist pumping the air. “And it’s secured! You were a great help, Todoroki!” He bounded right up to IcyHot with a raised hand and a bright smile. Apparently, the halfie had stopped with the sub-freezing temperatures. “Couldn’t have done this without ya!”

Todoroki blinked at him before slowly raising his hand. Kirishima high-fived him, and Katsuki snorted at how awkward the bastard looked. That didn’t stop Uraraka, Deku, and Ashido from doing the same, though. 

When IcyHot faced him, hand still raised and gaze expectant, Katsuki frowned. “Hell no.” Instead, he decided to shed his damn suit, because apparently the chances to be roasted and/or frozen alive was near zero. 

Todoroki dropped his hand, fucking staring again, before asking the others, “So, am I going back to my room now?”

Uraraka’s smile marginally dropped. “Uh, well, yeah you’re supposed to…” Subtle guilt flashed across her face, along with the rest of the idiots’. “It kinda...feels wrong, you know?”

IcyHot quietly sighed, glancing over to the closed doors. “I’ve told you, I don’t mind since the rules-“

“Yeah, but…” Deku bit his lip before shuffling closer to Ashido, who was still holding on to the phone. “Sir? Are you still there?”

_ “He needs to go back to his chamber.” _

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he tucked his folded suit under his arm, body feeling freer. He didn’t know why Deku expected anything else from Aizawa. Todoroki helping secure an SCP was necessary. Whatever they were thinking definitely  _ wasn’t.  _

“I know!” Deku twiddled his fingers. “But I was thinking...maybe we could give Todoroki a little tour of our sector? Have a little change of pace?”

_ “Having a containment breach isn’t a big enough one?” _

“Please?” Kirishima hopped onto the begging train. “It doesn’t have to be a long tour! And we can avoid any important places like our offices if you want! Everyone needs a breather! Right, Todoroki?”

“I…” Todoroki faltered, considering. He had never been a big choice maker, staying passive in the background. It was probably why he hadn’t said shit about being locked up for this long. “If it’s allowed, I wouldn’t mind.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for one, two, five seconds before a long-winded sigh came through.  _ “A fifteen minute tour, no longer. Avoid the offices and any control rooms.” _

“The hell?” Katsuki muttered. Aizawa had  _ never  _ been this lenient before. Yeah, even he had to admit that IcyHot was a special case, but still. 

_ “Midoriya and Bakugo have to be among the ones to accompany him.” _

Katsuki was thrown out of his thoughts by that statement. It was definitely just aimed at him. “Hah?! Why in the hell do I have to-“

_ “Because I’m your boss.” _

Then he hung up.

Four amused smiles were aimed at him; the fifth was more controlled and grateful than anything, making Katsuki curse this day even more.

Thunder boomed overhead just to taunt him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCP-106: the "Old Man"  
> SCP-106 is a demonic entity with the body structure of an elderly man. It is able to chase its victims through any solid surfaces, dragging them into an alternate dimension if caught.
> 
> SCP-939: "With Many Voices"  
> SCP-939 is a large predatory monstrous entity that uses a form of mimicry to lure its prey, attacking viciously whenever its prey is in sight.


End file.
